Air Ambulance & EVASAN Glossary
EVASAN, MEDEVAC, Sea Level Flight, bed-to-bed... the sector has its own vocabulary. Here's what the terms used across this site actually mean, each linked to the page where you can learn more.
EVASAN / MEDEVAC
EVASAN is the French abbreviation for évacuation sanitaire — what English speakers usually call a medical evacuation or MEDEVAC. It covers the medically supervised transport of a patient from wherever they currently are to a facility better suited to their condition, in their home country or abroad.
Read our full explainer on EVASANMedical repatriation
A medical evacuation that brings a patient back to their country of residence or a hospital of their choosing, typically after an accident or hospitalization abroad — often coordinated with travel insurance or an assistance company.
See our medical repatriation serviceInter-hospital transfer
The transport of an already-hospitalized patient to a better-equipped facility — a specialist intensive-care unit, an ECMO center, neurosurgery — independent of any notion of returning home.
See all our medical evacuation servicesICU / ECMO transfer
The transport of a critically ill patient who needs continuous intensive care during the flight: a fixed ventilator, cardiac monitoring, infusion pumps and, when required, an ECMO-compatible configuration.
See our ICU/ECMO transfer serviceECMO
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — a machine that takes over the work of the heart and/or lungs by oxygenating the patient's blood outside the body, used for the most critical patients when standard ventilation isn't enough. Ambulance Flight configures selected aircraft to be ECMO-compatible for transport, with a specialist perfusionist on board when required.
See our ICU/ECMO transfer serviceSea Level Flight
A flight in which cabin pressure is held at, or close to, sea level rather than the roughly 1,800–2,400 m cabin altitude of a standard commercial aircraft — for patients whose condition can't tolerate the lower oxygen levels of a normal pressurized cabin, for example after recent cardiac or lung surgery.
See our Sea Level Flight serviceBed-to-bed
Full coordination of a transfer from the departure hospital bed to the arrival bed: ground transport at both ends, the medical flight itself, and admission arranged in advance, so the family has no logistics of their own to manage.
See our bed-to-bed coordination servicePediatric & neonatal transfer
The transfer of a newborn or child requiring specific equipment and medical supervision — a transport incubator, a flight crew trained in pediatric care — with a seat kept for a parent on board whenever possible.
See our pediatric & neonatal transfer serviceCoffin flight
The air repatriation of a deceased person's body to their home country, including the administrative, health and customs formalities specific to this type of transport.
See our repatriation-of-remains serviceMedically configured aircraft
An aircraft fitted with fixed medical equipment — not a standard cabin adapted at the last minute. Ambulance Flight selects and inspects each aircraft mission by mission, matched to the patient's condition and the required range.
See our medically configured fleetLight jet
A smaller aircraft such as the Cessna Citation V or Learjet 45XR, offering the fastest mobilization and access to smaller airfields for regional missions of up to around a thousand kilometres. Cabin typically accommodates up to two stretchers.
See our fleetMedium jet
A mid-size aircraft such as the Learjet 60, with a taller, wider cabin that lets the medical team work standing around the patient — used for longer missions or those needing more on-board equipment.
See our fleetLong-range jet
An aircraft such as the Challenger 604 or 650, capable of intercontinental repatriations without a stop, with enough space for a complete intensive-care setup — up to four stretchers at once on the Challenger 650.
See our fleetStretcher
The stretcher a patient travels on inside the aircraft cabin, fixed to the airframe for safety. A light jet typically takes up to two stretchers, the Challenger 650 up to four simultaneously.
See our fleetFlight crew
The pilots and medical team assigned to a mission. Long-range and critical-care flights typically require two pilots, alongside a flight physician and nurse matched to the patient's condition.
See how a mission crew is assembledPerfusionist
A specialist trained to operate ECMO equipment in flight, mobilized on missions where the patient's condition requires continuous ECMO support during transport.
See our ICU/ECMO transfer serviceTransport incubator
A mobile, climate-controlled incubator certified for flight, used to transport a newborn while maintaining temperature, oxygen levels and monitoring throughout the mission.
See our pediatric & neonatal transfer serviceFlight plan
The route, altitude and technical parameters set for a mission before departure. For a Sea Level Flight, the flight plan is built specifically around maintaining sea-level cabin pressure throughout — not every aircraft or route can support it.
See our Sea Level Flight serviceCommercial flight with medical escort
An alternative to a dedicated air ambulance: the patient travels on a scheduled commercial flight, accompanied by a nurse or physician who manages their care throughout — used when the patient's condition allows it and a suitable direct flight exists.
Read our full explainer on EVASANGround ambulance
The vehicle that carries the patient between the hospital or home and the airport at each end of the journey — coordinated in advance so the patient never drops a level of care between stages.
See how we coordinate every stepOverflight & landing permits
The clearances required from each country an aircraft crosses or lands in. Along with technical stopovers and aircraft repositioning, they're one of the factors that shape a mission's route, timing and cost.
See what determines the cost of a missionAircraft repositioning
Flying an aircraft (empty) to the pick-up point before the mission, or back to base afterward. It's a real cost factor — the nearest available aircraft isn't always already where the patient is.
See what determines the cost of a missionMedical handover
The complete clinical file transmitted to the receiving medical team on arrival — diagnosis, treatment given in flight, vital signs — so care continues without any gap in information.
See our end-to-end bed-to-bed coordinationAssistance company
A company appointed by an insurer or a payment card to organize, and sometimes fund, a patient's care abroad. Ambulance Flight works in direct coordination with these companies, including direct billing where authorized.
See our page for insurers & assistance companiesCoordinating physician
The physician who reviews the patient's medical file before the mission and decides, together with the treating team on site, what mode of transport and equipment are needed. On the most critical missions, a flight physician or nurse also accompanies the patient on board.
See how a mission is organizedFitness to fly
The medical assessment of whether a patient's condition allows air travel — standard or medically escorted — and under what conditions. It's one of the first things our medical desk confirms with the treating hospital before a mission is organized.
See how we confirm fitness to fly24/7 medical desk
The single point of contact, reachable day and night, that takes the first call, reviews the case and triggers the mission — whether the caller is a family member, a hospital, an insurer or an assistance company.
Contact our 24/7 medical deskDon't see the term you need?
Call our 24/7 medical desk directly — we're happy to explain anything about how a mission works, in plain language.