How to Arrange an Air Ambulance
The process is easier when clinical, aviation, and ground-transport decisions happen in the right order. Use these steps to prepare, compare an option, and avoid missing a handoff.
AirMedHub coordinates interfacility and planned medical transportation. This website and request form are not emergency dispatch services.
What are the eight steps from the first call to patient handoff?
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Confirm the origin, destination, and reason for transfer
Identify where the patient is now, where the patient needs to go, and whether the move is a hospital transfer, return home, or international repatriation. If the destination is a hospital, ask whether a physician and bed have accepted the patient.
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Gather the patient's current information
Provide a concise description of the condition, mobility, oxygen or ventilator use, medications or infusions in progress, isolation needs, recent procedures, height and weight, and any change in status. The transport provider may request records and speak with the treating team.
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Complete clinical review
The prospective transport provider's clinical team reviews the available information. It determines whether the patient can be accepted for transport and identifies the medical crew, equipment, medications, and operational precautions needed. AirMedHub does not make this decision.
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Identify the aircraft, operator, and route
The aircraft must fit the route and the mission requirements. Airport access, runway suitability, range, weather, permits, crew duty limits, fuel stops, and current availability can all affect the option. The certificated operator retains control of aviation decisions.
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Plan every ground and facility connection
Confirm how the patient will move from the bed or pickup point to the departure airport, and from the arrival airport to the destination. Establish who will give and receive the clinical report at each handoff.
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Review the written proposal
Before payment or authorization, check the named operator, aircraft type, medical team, route, ground ambulances, included services, estimated timing, price terms, cancellation terms, and any items that remain the customer's responsibility.
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Authorize the trip and release records securely
Complete the required agreement and payment or authorization process. Arrange secure release of the records needed for clinical review and handoff. Do not send sensitive medical information through an unapproved channel.
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Coordinate pickup, flight, and receiving handoff
The ground crew, medical team, flight crew, facilities, and destination contacts work from the confirmed itinerary. Operational updates should continue until the patient has been transferred to the receiving care team or agreed destination.
What information should you gather before you call?
You can start with only the basics, but having the following information available can reduce back-and-forth:
Patient and clinical details
- Full name, date of birth, height, and weight.
- Diagnosis or reason for transfer.
- Current condition and recent changes.
- Oxygen, airway, ventilator, monitoring, medication, mobility, or isolation needs.
- Treating clinician or nurse contact.
Route and contacts
- Exact pickup and destination locations.
- Sending unit and receiving facility contacts.
- Receiving physician and acceptance status, when applicable.
- Requested date and timing considerations.
- Family, case manager, payer, or authorizing contact.
Missing information does not always prevent the first conversation. Tell the coordinator what is known and who can supply the rest.
What affects how quickly a flight can be arranged?
There is no responsible universal promise for dispatch time. A medically and operationally complete trip depends on more than whether an airplane is nearby. Timing can be affected by:
- How quickly current clinical information can be obtained and reviewed.
- Receiving-facility acceptance and bed availability.
- The required medical team and specialized equipment.
- Aircraft and crew position, range, and duty-time limits.
- Weather, airport hours, runway limits, and ground ambulance availability.
- International landing permissions, customs, immigration, and border documentation.
- Customer authorization, payment, or insurer approval requirements.
A scheduled transfer with complete records can be planned differently from a time-sensitive hospital transfer. Ask for the assumptions behind any estimated departure time and expect the operator to revise that estimate if aviation or clinical conditions change.
How do you review an air ambulance proposal?
A useful proposal should allow you to understand the whole trip, not just the flight segment. Confirm these items in writing:
| Item | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Operator and aircraft | The legal name of the aircraft operator, aircraft type, and who has operational control of the flight. |
| Medical service | The medical provider, proposed crew roles, relevant equipment, and whether the plan is still subject to final clinical acceptance. |
| Route | Departure and arrival airports, expected fuel stops, and any material route assumptions. |
| Ground transportation | Whether pickup and destination ambulances are included, and the endpoints covered. |
| Facilities and handoffs | Who confirms the receiving location and who coordinates clinical reports or records. |
| Price and terms | Included charges, potential additional charges, payment timing, cancellation terms, and what happens if circumstances change. |
| Estimated schedule | What must occur before dispatch and which timing factors remain outside the coordinator's control. |
Use the complete air ambulance quote checklist to compare the legal operator, aircraft, medical scope, route, ground segments, exclusions, and change terms.
Which questions are worth asking before you confirm?
- Who is the aircraft operator, and who holds operational control?
- Has the transport provider's clinical team accepted the patient?
- What medical crew and equipment are included, and why were they selected?
- Are ground ambulances included at both ends?
- Has the receiving facility accepted the patient, if hospital admission is needed?
- What is included in the stated price, and what could change it?
- What are the cancellation and schedule-change terms?
- Who will provide updates, and who should be called if the patient's condition changes?
If an answer is vague, ask for it in writing before authorization. A clear scope protects the patient, the family, the referring facility, and every provider in the transport chain.
What does AirMedHub do, and what does it not do?
AirMedHub gathers mission information, coordinates with relevant contacts, identifies independently operated options, and helps connect the accepted itinerary. It provides a single point of contact for the logistical pieces of the trip.
AirMedHub does not own or operate aircraft, hold itself out as the direct air carrier, provide emergency dispatch, diagnose a patient, select treatment, guarantee a departure time, or decide whether insurance will pay. The aircraft operator controls the flight. The transport provider's medical team controls clinical acceptance and the transport care plan.
Sources and scope
- CAMTS Medical Transport Accreditation Standards, 12th Edition, for examples of request information, patient-care planning, and handoff expectations in medical transport.
- Federal Aviation Administration: Part 135 charter services, for U.S. on-demand air-carrier authority context.
- CDC: Getting Health Care During Travel, for emergency and travel-health planning context.
- U.S. Department of State: Insurance Coverage Overseas, for international medical evacuation and insurance planning context.
Sources were checked on August 14, 2026. This guide describes a general coordination workflow. The providers involved in a specific transport set the clinical, operational, contractual, and documentation requirements.
Related medical flight guides
Have the origin and destination? Start there.
Give an AirMedHub coordinator the patient's current location, intended destination, present condition, and requested timing. We can identify what else is needed for provider review.