Medical Repatriation Glossary

An air ambulance operator certified against an independent aeromedical standard such as EURAMI or CAMTS.

The movement of a patient by air with a dedicated medical crew and equipment, from one care facility to another.

Any aircraft configured and crewed to transport a patient under continuous medical care.

A third-party organisation appointed by a travel or expat insurer to handle medical assistance and repatriation logistics.

A transport ventilator certified for use in flight, used to support patients who cannot breathe adequately on their own.

A complete patient transfer where one team handles every step from the sending hospital bed to the receiving hospital bed.

The effective altitude inside a pressurised aircraft cabin, which is lower than the actual flight altitude but still above sea level.

The named operations lead running a medevac mission from first call through to bedside handover.

Casualty evacuation — moving a casualty from the point of incident, often before definitive medical care is established.

A stretcher installed across a block of economy or business-class seats on a scheduled airline, used for medical repatriation when clinically safe.

The portion of an insured claim the policyholder pays before the insurer's cover applies.

Moving a patient who is supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, with the ECMO circuit running throughout the flight.

Fixed Base Operator — a private terminal at an airport, used by private and air ambulance flights for fast, discreet processing.

A medical assessment confirming a patient can safely travel by air at a given cabin altitude with specified support.

The road ambulance that transfers the patient between hospital and aircraft at each end of a medevac mission.

A written undertaking from an insurer or assistance company to pay for medical or transport services on behalf of the patient.

The full name for HEMS — rotary-wing aircraft and crew deployed for emergency response and short critical-care transfers.

Helicopter Emergency Medical Service — rotary-wing emergency response, typically to incident scenes or short inter-hospital transfers.

The formal transfer of clinical responsibility from the medevac team to the receiving hospital, with structured documentation.

An air ambulance mission flown with intensive-care-level equipment and crew for critically ill patients.

Supplemental oxygen delivered to a patient during flight, either via aircraft system or portable cylinders.

A business jet capable of intercontinental sectors — typically 5,000+ nautical miles — used for transoceanic medevac.

Mass Casualty Incident — a situation where casualties overwhelm local resources and triggers external evacuation support.

Short for medical evacuation — a dedicated air mission to move a patient out of a location where adequate care is unavailable.

Approval from an airline or aeromedical authority that a patient may travel, sometimes with specified conditions.

A clinician — physician, nurse or paramedic — accompanying a patient on a flight to provide care en route.

Returning an ill or injured patient to their home country for further treatment or recovery.

Medical Information Form — a standard form completed by a treating doctor and submitted to the airline's medical desk.

A business jet covering regional and intra-continental sectors, the workhorse of intra-European and intra-US medevac.

Evaluation of how a patient can be transferred — independently, with assistance, by wheelchair, or by stretcher only.

The aeromedical transfer of newborns and premature infants, using a transport incubator and a neonatal specialist team.

Time-critical air movement of donor organs between donor and recipient hospitals, often by dedicated jet.

Government authorisation to fly through a country's airspace, required for many international medevac routes.

Aeromedical transfer of infants and children, with paediatric-trained medical crew and age-appropriate equipment.

The return of a person to their home country, used in medical contexts for return after illness, injury or death abroad.

An assigned departure or arrival time issued by air traffic control or airport authorities, often required for congested airports.

An aircraft cabin set up with a fixed stretcher and patient-care zone, in place of standard passenger seats.

A short fuel and crew stop during a long-range mission, with no passenger or patient disembarkation.

A self-contained neonatal life-support unit, including ventilation, monitoring and temperature control, used for newborn transfers.

A propeller-driven aircraft used for shorter sectors, island airports and unpaved or short runways.