Frequently Asked Questions
for Commercial Medical Escort flights
At SkyCare, we specialise in providing expert medical escorts for patients who need assistance while travelling on commercial airlines.
Our service is designed for individuals who are medically stable but require professional support during their journey — whether due to illness, injury, surgery recovery, or simply needing extra help to get home safely.
We understand that arranging a medical flight for a loved one can feel overwhelming.
Our experienced team of doctors, nurses, and critical care paramedics is here to guide you through the entire process, from initial enquiry to bedside-to-bedside transfer, ensuring comfort, safety, and peace of mind at every step.
Below you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions about how our Commercial Medical Escort service works.
If you need any further information or reassurance, our team is available 24/7 to help.
Commercial Medical Escort FAQs
A Commercial Medical Escort flight involves one of our highly trained medical professionals accompanying you on a commercial airline, providing care and support throughout your journey.
You will travel on a regular scheduled flight but with the added reassurance of having our doctor, nurse, or critical care paramedic by your side at all times.
Medically accompanied flights are a cost-effective alternative to a private air ambulance or road ambulance repatriation and are suitable for patients who are stable but require assistance during travel.
This option is ideal for patients who are older or frail, recovering from surgery, have mobility issues, minor fractures, or for those who simply need medical supervision because family members are unable to travel with them.
Our team ensures you are fully supported from bedside to bedside, making your journey home as safe and comfortable as possible.
Once you instruct SkyCare to assist your family member, we will guide you through every step and take care of everything.
We liaise directly with the hospitals at both ends, arrange medical clearance with the airline, and coordinate all the logistics involved in the transfer.
To help the process move as quickly and smoothly as possible, it’s important that you provide us with full contact details for the hospital where your family member is currently being cared for.
Obtaining medical clearance from the airline is often the most time-consuming part of the process, so the sooner we can start, the better.
You are under no obligation to proceed until you are fully happy to do so.
We do not charge anything to begin the medical clearance process — we simply want to be ready to move quickly once you give us the go-ahead.
You do still have options.
A Fit to Fly certificate is required for travel on a commercial airline; however, this is not required for air ambulance flights. In these cases, the decision is made by our treating doctor, who is specially trained in aviation medicine.
Alternatively, you may choose to wait until the patient’s condition improves and a Fit to Fly can be obtained.
Depending on your location, SkyCare can send one of our ground ambulances to collect and transport the patient.
In summary, if a Fit to Fly cannot be obtained, you have three options:
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Travel by air ambulance,
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Wait for the patient’s condition to improve, or
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Arrange our ground ambulance transport.
Yes, absolutely.
SkyCare can fully manage stretcher flights on commercial airlines.
While these flights are generally more expensive than seated medical escort flights and may take additional time to arrange, they are often the safest and only option to bring seriously ill patients home to their loved ones.
We manage the entire bed-to-bed transfer process, including all medical clearances (such as airline MEDIF approvals) and ground ambulance transfers at both departure and arrival points.
The airline will arrange for the stretcher installation and privacy curtain setup on board, and our team works closely with them to ensure everything is properly in place before travel.
Our experienced team of doctors, nurses, and critical care paramedics provides continuous care throughout the journey, ensuring the patient’s dignity, comfort, and safety are maintained at every step.
Your safety and wellbeing are our highest priority.
Yes, absolutely. We are happy to assist with arranging travel for family members or companions to accompany the patient.
However, we do advise caution.
Medical escort seats and family seats are usually booked together, and because airline prices often increase between the initial enquiry and final MEDIF clearance, any additional seats booked early will also be subject to these price rises.
The more seats reserved at the outset, the greater the potential cost increase for the whole group. For this reason, we recommend limiting accompanying family members to one or two initially.
Once the patient’s seat is booked and confirmed, additional family members can then arrange their own separate bookings onto the same flight. This approach helps to keep your overall costs much lower.
You do still have options.
A Fit to Fly certificate is required for travel on a commercial airline; however, this is not required for air ambulance flights. In these cases, the decision is made by our treating doctor, who is specially trained in aviation medicine.
Alternatively, you may choose to wait until the patient’s condition improves and a Fit to Fly can be obtained.
Depending on your location, SkyCare can send one of our ground ambulances to collect and transport the patient.
In summary, if a Fit to Fly cannot be obtained, you have three options:
-
Travel by air ambulance,
-
Wait for the patient’s condition to improve, or
-
Arrange our ground ambulance transport.
It is very common for patients to require oxygen during a flight, even if they do not normally need it on the ground.
Due to changes in cabin pressure at altitude — even in a pressurised aircraft — oxygen saturation levels can decrease, which may affect the patient’s breathing.
To ensure safety, we routinely carry a Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) on most flights.
If a patient is already using oxygen at ground level, we will often arrange for additional oxygen support on board to maintain appropriate levels throughout the journey.
Yes, we can. SkyCare has a team of over 150 medical professionals, including doctors across all specialties, who are able to arrange hospital admissions in the UK.
To do so, we require access to the patient’s medical notes in advance to ensure the most appropriate care pathway is organised.
The price we quote is based on the cost of airline seats at the time of enquiry.
Please be aware that delays between receiving MEDIF (Medical Information Form) approval and confirming the booking can often result in an increase in seat prices.
SkyCare cannot guarantee seat availability or the originally quoted price if there is a delay.
We recommend confirming your booking as soon as possible after MEDIF approval to avoid additional charges.
Read our important notice about seat pricing and availability.
Trusted Service
SkyCare – Everything You Need, All in One Place
Registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with 60 specialist ambulances, a London-based air ambulance service, and a dedicated team of over 150 medical professionals, SkyCare provides complete repatriation solutions you can trust.
Whether you require a Commercial Medical Escort, Air Ambulance, or Specialist Ground Ambulance, we deliver every aspect of your care directly — without relying on third parties.
Unlike many others, we operate our own fleet of ambulances and our own aircraft, ensuring full control, continuity, and the highest standards of care at every stage.
You can call us direct to arrange safe, compassionate repatriation for your loved one — from anywhere in Europe — back to the UK with full medical support, 24-hour monitoring, and dignity every time.
SkyCare – Real ambulances. Real aircraft. Real care.
Learn more about our Commercial Medical Escort Services.
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What our clients say.
If you are in the UK and looking for a medical repatriation company for your loved on, I could not recommend Skycare enough. I had an amazing experience dealing with Skycare on arranging medical repatriation for my Dad from London, United Kingdom all the way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (12 hour long flight). From the first message I sent, Skycare responded fast and was very efficient on making sure all the forms and approvals were obtained quickly. Thank you so much to Craig for ensuring everything was smooth and Nurse Nav who was with my Dad during the journey back home.
Many thanks from myself and George. We were very impressed with the knowledge, care and professionalism shown from yourself and everyone involved and in particular we want to thank the medical team on the day, Lee and Tasha, for taking good care of James along the way. Please also forward our thanks to the pilots, Mark and Joe, for the smooth plane travel and landing and to Chris our ambulance driver for the considered driving all the way to Reading.
We are very happy now with the care he is receiving at Royal Berkshire Hospital and really pleased we were able to get him home safely with your excellent support and expertise from everyone involved.
Dear Craig & Ben,
I just wanted to say a huge thank you for sorting out our return home from Las Palmas today. My Dad was extremely nervous about the whole prospect of it all (as you probably picked up! 🙂 but it really was a seamless operation at every step of the way.
Mum is safely ensconced in Maidstone Hospital, and in good hands – not that she wasn’t before, but she is happy that she can communicate.
Pete McNair
From the very first point of contact to the final message confirming my parents had been safely repatriated to the UK, the service and care was second to none. The administration was straightforward, the quotation clear, and everything worked perfectly.
Repatriation from France to the UK is never simple, but during a pandemic, it’s even more complex. SkyCare handled all the COVID-19 testing, paperwork and ever-changing border rules — while also showing genuine care, comfort and professionalism.
They made two worried octogenarians feel at ease during a very frightening time — and reassured the whole family, right down to tracking the journey door to door. If you’re looking for medical repatriation to the UK, I can highly recommend BM Ambulance Group.
Shared by Chez Gourcilloux – March 2024
Cannot thank the team at BM Ambulance enough for getting my Dad home from Spain. Craig/Sarah/James/Emma & Danny were all absolutely amazing. It was a huge 24 hour journey and they made Mum & Dad feel comfortable and safe the entire way. I don’t think my Dad would have made it without your help. He’s still not in the best of health but at least we have him home. We definitely could not have done this without you. Thank you all involved. Amazing people offering a fantastic service. x
BM Ambulance Service helped my son get home after he fell ill in France. They were fantastic from the start to finish. I do hope we never have to go through this again but if you are unfortunate enough to need this, I would highly recommend.
I would have given more than 5 stars if I could have. A big thank you to Craig, Sarah and John for the safe delivery of our much loved mum, mother in law, Nan and great grandmother from Spain after suffering a stroke.
Accreditations
British Business & General Aviation Association
European Business Aviation Association
Pilatus Fleet
AOC (Air operator certificate) #2480
National Business Aviation Association
