Sea Level Flight
Most aircraft — including many air ambulances — hold a cabin pressure equivalent to 6,000–8,000 ft of altitude, which reduces available oxygen and can change the volume of gas trapped in the body. For certain patients, even a moderate cabin altitude can be dangerous or medically contraindicated. Ambulance Flight can configure select aircraft to maintain cabin pressure at or near sea level throughout the flight, keeping oxygenation and gas volumes stable, as they would be on the ground.
Who this service is for
- Patients who have had recent chest, abdominal, ENT, or eye surgery involving trapped air or gas.
- Divers or patients with confirmed or suspected decompression sickness or arterial gas embolism.
- Patients with pneumothorax (treated or untreated) where a cabin altitude change is contraindicated.
- Patients with severe respiratory or cardiac conditions whose treating physician requires a sea-level cabin environment.
What's included
- Aircraft selected and configured specifically for sea-level (or near-sea-level) cabin pressurization capability.
- Continuous cabin altitude monitoring throughout the flight, coordinated with the medical crew.
- Medical crew briefed on the specific pressure-sensitive condition before departure.
- Coordination with the referring physician or hyperbaric/dive-medicine specialist when relevant.
- Flight planning — altitude and routing — built around the patient's pressure tolerance, not just distance and speed.
How it works
Medical assessment
Your case, your physician's notes and the specific pressure sensitivity are reviewed before any aircraft is selected.
Aircraft & crew selection
We select an aircraft capable of maintaining a sea-level (or physician-specified) cabin altitude for the full route, and brief the flight crew and medical team accordingly.
Continuous monitoring in flight
Cabin altitude and patient vitals are monitored throughout the mission, with the flight plan adjusted if needed.
Handover
On arrival, a full report — including the cabin pressure log — is provided to the receiving medical team.
Common questions
It means the aircraft cabin is pressurized to maintain an altitude at or near sea level (0 ft) throughout the flight, instead of the 6,000–8,000 ft cabin altitude typical of most aircraft — which matters for patients whose condition is sensitive to changes in pressure or oxygen availability.
Common cases include recent chest, abdominal, ENT or eye surgery involving trapped gas, pneumothorax, decompression sickness in divers, and some severe respiratory or cardiac conditions — always confirmed with the treating physician before the mission is planned.
No — it requires an aircraft specifically capable of it and a flight plan built around that constraint. We select the aircraft and route for each mission based on the patient's medical requirement, not the other way around.
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