DUBAI: Kuwait’s 91-year-old emir landed in the United States on Thursday after being flown across the world in a US Air Force C-17 flying hospital, and just days after undergoing an unspecified surgery at home.

The dramatic airlift reflected the close ties between the two nations, but also raised concerns over the ruler’s medical condition.

Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah survived the 16-hour trip under the watch of US medical professionals and Kuwaitis.

Kuwait’s ambassador to the US was at the airport for the plane’s arrival.

Kuwait has not released any information on what medical ailment Sheikh Sabah faces, other than to say he was hospitalised on Saturday and underwent a surgery on Sunday.

His condition has renewed concerns over a possible power struggle within the ruling family of Kuwait, a small Mideast nation home to some of the world’s largest oil reserves.

Prayer recitations filled state television and social media, all hoping for his recovery.

Flight-tracking data showed the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, which took off from Kuwait International Airport, landed in Rochester, Minnesota, after a brief stopover at Germany’s Ramstein air base.

Rochester is home to the flagship campus of the Mayo Clinic, one of America’s best hospitals, and has treated Sheikh Sabah in the past. The Mayo Clinic declined to comment.

The US military uses some C-17s as airborne hospitals for medical evacuations, able to triage critically wounded soldiers while rapidly flying them onto major bases. The aircraft include onboard oxygen and the same life-saving equipment as found in hospital emergency rooms.

The flights often include critical care air transport teams, comprising a specialised doctor, a nurse and a respiratory therapist.

Asked about the C-17 flight, US Air Force Central Command based in Qatar referred questions to the military’s transportation command, which declined to comment.

A State Department official said America provided assistance to help with the emir’s treatment, without elaborating.

A Kuwaiti government Airbus A340 that left Kuwait City also landed earlier on Thursday in Rochester. That same Airbus had flown to Rochester and New York City before returning to Kuwait just days before Sheikh Sabah’s surgery.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2020