The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is being showcased today at Dublin Airport, where it will be accessible to members of the public who have registered with Orbis, the international NGO which is dedicated to fighting blindness and promoting eye care. CityJet is facilitating this visit and providing access to the aircraft for registered guests through its Dublin Airport hangar.
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is a state of the art teaching eye hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft which provides hands-on training to local eye care professionals in the heart of under resourced communities around the world. It includes a fully accredited surgical suite, treatment rooms and a 46-seat classroom.
The MD-10 is on a promotional tour of Dublin and London to raise awareness of the work the charity undertakes in countries around the world. Established in the 1970s, Orbis is an alliance of medical professionals and the aviation industry dedicated to promoting eye care and fighting blindness in developing countries.
The Flying Eye Hospital last visited Dublin 10 years ago. Now its brand new aircraft with state of the art facilities will be in Dublin until Sunday, 5th March.
CityJet Executive Chairman, Pat Byrne, said the airline was delighted to have the opportunity of hosting the aircraft. He said: “The MD-10 is effectively a teaching hospital which visits countries around the world where Orbis operates help programmes. The aircraft is a classroom for local eye care professionals where facilities on the ground would be very challenging. We at CityJet are proud to play a small part in helping Orbis to showcase the Flying Eye Hospital so that more people and potential donors can see at first hand the valuable and life enhancing work undertaken by this aircraft and its team.”