Terminally Ill Patient: Returning Home by Medical Flight
When a relative is terminally ill abroad, the family often wishes to bring them home. We organize the journey with respect, discretion and the medical comfort the patient needs.
Bringing a terminally ill relative home is a request we receive with great care. The aim is to allow the patient to be near family and to receive care in a familiar environment. We coordinate with the treating team and with the palliative or receiving team, assess with our coordinating physician whether the journey is feasible, and organize it with a medical crew attentive to the patient's comfort.
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
- Terminally ill patient who wishes to return home to be with family
- Transfer to a palliative care unit or to the family home in the home country
- Family who wants to be with the patient at the end of life
- Patient who needs adapted comfort care and symptom control during the journey
How the transport is organized
Before the flight
- Discussion with the family and the treating team about the patient's wishes and condition
- Assessment of feasibility by our coordinating physician with the treating team
- Coordination with the receiving palliative care team or hospital, or the family's physician
- Careful ground transfers, with the comfort of the patient as a priority
On board
- Medical crew attentive to comfort, with symptom control and monitoring
- Stretcher and cabin arrangements chosen for the patient's comfort
- Presence of family members whenever the aircraft allows it
- Discretion and respect throughout the journey
Fitness to fly and timing
Time matters in these situations. Our coordinating physician works quickly with the treating team to confirm whether the journey is feasible, and we organize the flight as fast as the clearances and the aircraft's availability allow.
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
Sometimes, if the treating team and our coordinating physician consider that the journey is feasible and in the patient's interest. The assessment is made case by case, with the patient's comfort as a priority.
Whenever the aircraft allows it, yes: close relatives can accompany the patient, and we organize their travel.
We are also able to organize the repatriation of a body, with the funeral and consular formalities — see our coffin flights service.
A medical situation abroad can't wait.
Our coordinators are available right now — every day, at any hour.