Commercial Stretcher

International Airline Medical Air Transport Via Commercial Stretcher

Some patients needing repatriation from one country to another or medevac to the United States may be too sick or injured to travel in a business class seat with a nurse escort. For patients that must lay down for all portions of their transfer, and for whom air ambulance transport is too expensive, the next least costly option may be commercial airline medical stretcher transport. Commercial Airline stretcher can be half the cost of international air ambulance while providing the same high level of medical care.

Global Air Ambulance can transport approved patients in a commercial airline jet on an FAA airline stretcher. While the patient travels on an airline with many other passengers, the patient is placed in the rear of the plane surrounded by a curtain for privacy. The patient is cared for by the same highly skilled medical staff as we have on private air ambulances. We also bring the same medical equipment and supplies as on an air ambulance. And just as on air ambulance, family members can travel with the patient on the commercial airline. 

Process Of A Airline Medical Stretcher Transport 

For those that choose international commercial airline medical stretcher transport, Global Air Ambulance will provide the following:

1. Our case manager will collect all information needed to perform your trip
2. We will provide all airline and flight options to the family prior to working with airlines
3. We then work with sending and receiving facilities, doctors, case managers, ground ambulances, airport authorities, customs and immigration, international airlines, their medical directors, airport security, and others to develop a detailed itinerary for your trip
4. For the accompanying family members, we can arrange for ground transportation to and from airports as well.
5. Our flight followers will manage each detail of your trip during every step of the medical stretcher transport
6. On the day of the trip, our team will bring our medical equipment, medicines and supplies to the patient and will bring the patient to the local international airport
7. We will meet airport security to take the patient through the airport to be lifted onto the aircraft by scissor truck to a stretcher in the rear of the aircraft
8. The stretcher will be placed above a dozen seats with a curtain around it for privacy
9. The medical team will consist of two critical care nurses and one respiratory therapist. We will also add a medical doctor if the case calls for one
10. On trips that have an interim stop, we will provide ambulances, scissor trucks, and security at the midpoint airport
11. At the receiving airport, an ambulance will be escorted to the plane to receive the patient and medical team
12. Immigrations and Customs will meet the patient and family aboard the airplane to expedite clearance
13. The team will travel with the patient to their destination where they will give the receiving medical team a detailed trip report of the international commercial airline medical transport

Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher Transport is a great choice for many medevac patients because it can provide excellent care at half the cost of air ambulance with similar travel times as air ambulance. However, airline stretcher service is only available from some countries and does have some medical restrictions and timing limitations.

Country limitations for medical stretcher escort

Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher Transport is available for repatriation from most countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia to and from the United States. However, commercial airline stretcher service is not available within the Americas, North, South and Central nor the Caribbean. The reason for this is that U.S. Based airlines, as well as those from England and Canada do not offer commercial stretcher service.

If you have a patient located in one country needing to be evacuated to another, call Global Air Ambulance today to discuss the specifics of your case and we can let you know of the medical options your patient may have including Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher Transport

Medical limitations for medical stretcher escort

Most patients can be transferred by international commercial airline medical stretcher. Global Air Ambulance carries most of the same equipment, medicines and supplies onto the commercial airline as we do on private air ambulance with the following exceptions. Air ambulances are licensed to have built in oxygen tanks but oxygen tanks cannot be brought onto commercial airline aircraft. 

While we can provide up to 100% oxygen, or 16 liters per minute on an air ambulance, we can only provide up to 4 liters per minute on a commercial airline. Because the pressure drops on a commercial airplane, 4 liters per minute on a commercial airline equates to only 2.5 liters per minute at ground level. So patients that require more than 2.5 liters per minute of oxygen per minute, they cannot be transported by Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher.

Patients on vents also cannot be transported by Commercial Airline Medical stretcher. Portable ventilators use more pressurized oxygen than can be supplied on a commercial airplane. Also, because commercial airplane pressures drop at the jet rises in altitude, patients that have blocked intestines or entrapped gases from recent surgeries cannot travel by Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher. If you have questions or concerns relating to these medical limitations, please call Global Air Ambulance at  941-536-2002 or  1-800-948-1220 and one of our case managers can discuss your specific case.

Timing limitations for medical stretcher escort

For patients that need immediate evacuation, Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher may not be a good alternative. Private air ambulance patients often can be transported within 24 hours. However, because Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher services are much more complex, and depend on the commercial airlines scheduling, they can take 7-14 days to conduct. 

Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher transports must be accepted by the international airline prior to the trip. To gain acceptance, our medical and case management staffs will simultaneously work with multiple international airlines to increase likelihood of a quick turnaround. We work with the airline’s medical director over a period of days to provide information on our team, our protocols, our equipment and medicines as well as the patient’s condition and our capabilities to safely treat the patient during transport while not creating interference with the airplane’s equipment.

After the international airline’s medical director gives us permission, we purchase the first block of seats available to conduct your trip. We then develop an itinerary working through all logistical details with the airline, airports, and ground transport companies. On average, this interactive process takes approximately 7-14 days.

Global Air Ambulance Experience With Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher Transport 

Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher Transport requires much planning and coordination that is best managed by companies with extensive experience with these specialized transfers. 

Global Air Ambulance has transported over 100,000 patients in the 30 years since we began operations. We have evacuated patients aboard commercial airlines from almost every country in the world. We are specialists at international transports, including the much more complex transports of stretcher patients aboard international airlines. 

Our case managers have extensive knowledge of the critical steps to set up your transport as quickly as possible while eliminating any issues that might occur in complicated international evacuations. Our medical staff has extensive experience in managing critical patients while navigating the complexity of maneuvering through international transports. 

Call today and one of our case managers can discuss your specific case, as well as Commercial Airline Medical Stretcher transport as one of your possible options. 

Why Choose Global Air Ambulance For Your Transport? 

Our staff is experienced at performing all the tasks necessary to ensure that the commercial stretcher transport option is managed properly and that the patient receives excellent medical care. In order to provide this practical and cost saving option, our staff must pay close attention to the details. We manage the initial patient medical report, confer with the commercial airline medical director on the patient's condition, get approval from the commercial airline on all medical personnel, medications, and equipment needed onboard during the transport, arrange ground transportation to and from the aircraft, manage ticketing and check in processes, manage security screening, customs and immigration and obtain clearances through appropriate government agencies. 

COVID-19 Update 

Global Air Ambulance’s Medical Director has determined that transporting patients aboard commercial airlines is too risky for the patient and medical crew during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are closely monitoring the pandemic and will let our customers know as soon as we believe that it is safe to travel aboard commercial airlines. Until that time, we can continue to provide international air ambulance service from anywhere in the world to any other part of the world for both Covid-19 patients and those that are Covid-19 free. For Covid-19 patients we used dedicated aircraft and virus isolation pods. Please call Global Air Ambulance at  941-536-2002 or  1-800-948-1220 to discuss your case and to receive a free quotation for private air ambulance service.