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Travis AFB Airmen Conduct First Coronavirus Aeromedical Evacuation From Indo-Pacific Region

TRAVIS AFB (CBS13) -- Travis Air Force Base airmen transported an active-duty service member who tested positive for COVID-19 from the Indo-Pacific region to the US on Friday, base officials announced.

Travis AFB said the individual is being treated at David Grant USAF Medical Center on base.

Base officials said the aeromedical evacuation mission saw the first use of the Transport Isolation System (TIS) to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area to transport COVID-19 patients and the 18th employment overall since the first use in April.

Officials said the base is one of three staging areas for the Air Force's specialized evacuation missions during the pandemic.

Base officials said the TIS is a biocontainment unit designed to allow medical care to be provided to patients in-flight without posing a risk to aircrew, medical attendants, and the airframe. Travis AFB said the TIS was originally developed during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

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