Altitude Illness Abroad: Evacuation and Transfer by Air Ambulance
Altitude illness is treated first by descending and by local care. Once the patient is stabilized, we organize the transfer, with a cabin pressure adapted to the condition.
Treks and stays at high altitude can cause altitude illness, sometimes serious, with breathing or neurological symptoms. The first treatment is to descend and to receive care locally, and the patient is often moved to a hospital in a city at a lower altitude. When a transfer is then necessary, for example to a hospital at home, the cabin pressure of the aircraft matters: for some patients, a flight with the cabin held at sea level may be recommended.
Our coordinating physician assesses each case together with the on-site medical team to determine the equipment required and the transport mode best suited to the patient's condition.
When we are called in
- Patient treated for altitude illness during a trek or a stay in the mountains
- Transfer after the descent and the stabilization to a hospital at a lower altitude or at home
- Patient whose breathing condition calls for a flight with cabin pressure at sea level
- Return home with monitoring and oxygen during the journey
How the transport is organized
Before the flight
- Collection of the medical file, the oxygen needs and the results of the tests
- Assessment of fitness to fly by our coordinating physician with the treating team
- Choice of the aircraft and of the cabin pressure option
- Coordination of the transfer from the mountain area to the airport, then with the receiving hospital
On board
- Medical team adapted to the breathing condition and to the level of monitoring
- Oxygen and monitoring of oxygen saturation throughout the flight
- Cabin pressure held at sea level when the case requires it
- Intensive-care equipment if the condition is severe
Fitness to fly and timing
The first response is always the descent and the local treatment. A transfer by air comes afterwards, when the patient is stabilized, and depends on the oxygen needs and on the advice of the treating team. See our page on sea level flights.
Our team can work directly with the patient's insurer or assistance company to arrange fast coverage — see our dedicated page for insurers and assistance companies.
This page gives general information about how a medical transport is organized and is not medical advice. Every decision is taken by the treating physicians together with our coordinating physician, case by case.
Related services
Common questions
A normal cabin is pressurized to the equivalent of a few thousand meters of altitude. For a patient whose lungs or brain have been affected by altitude, a cabin held at sea level can be recommended by the doctors.
It depends on the condition, on the oxygen needs and on the advice of the treating team. The first priority is the treatment on site.
We organize the transfer from the hospital or the nearest suitable airport. When the patient is in a remote area, a first transfer to a main airport is planned before the flight.
A medical situation abroad can't wait.
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