Efinair to launch medical private jet next year

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24  -- Efinair MyJet International Sdn Bhd (Efinair) will launch its first medical private jet in January next year, giving a boost to Malaysia’s robust medical tourism industry.

Efinair chief executive officer Muhammad Fadzil Abdullah said the goal is to provide immediate access to a range of jets that are staffed with highly qualified nurses and paramedics who can provide lifesaving care while in flight.

“I am confident that the launching of this medical private jet in Malaysia will provide excellent quality air transport service to cater to the increasing number of foreign patients in the country.

"Foreign patients sought medical care and health treatments in Malaysia, potentially to spend millions on oncology, advanced cancer and cardiac treatments, coronary artery bypass, stem-cell treatments, health check-ups, replacement, total knee replacement, gastric bypass, implant supported dentures, full facelift, rhinoplasty and others,” he said in a statement today.

Noting that foreign patients would also spend millions on travel and sightseeing for these medical trips, he said an annual growth of 40 per cent is predicted for the next few years as more foreign patients will seek treatment in Malaysia.

Muhammad Fadzil said as Malaysia ranked first in the Best Healthcare in the World category of the 2019 International Living Annual Global Retirement Index, this will attract patients from the Middle East, Brunei, Indonesia, China and the Philippines to get treatment in this country.

This will boost Malaysia’s reputation as a medical tourism destination and facilitate the country's economic growth, he added.

When tabling Budget 2020 on Oct 11, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Malaysia will host the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel 2020 to solidify the country's leading position as a medical tourist destination in the region.

Lim said medical tourism is a rapidly expanding sector in Malaysia, growing 17 per cent annually from 2015 to 2018 and it generated RM1.5 billion revenue receipts from 1.2 million healthcare travellers last year.

“The government will allocate RM25 million to the Malaysia Healthcare Tourism Council to strengthen the position of the country as the preferred destination for health tourism in Asean for oncology, cardiology and fertility treatment,” he said.

-- BERNAMA