Red Dot Air Ambulance provides medical evacuation and repatriation services from anywhere in Asia-Pacific to Singapore and beyond. Our team coordinates the entire journey from bedside to bedside, including hospital liaison, ground ambulances, flight permits, immigration clearances, and continuous ICU-level medical care throughout the flight.
We are a direct operator with our own fleet of four dedicated medical jets, not a broker, and we are EURAMI accredited.
Evacuation: moving the patient for an upgrade in medical care. Repatriation: bringing the patient home.
What Is Medical Evacuation & Repatriation?
Medical repatriation is the process of bringing a patient back to their home country for continued medical treatment or to be closer to their family.
When someone falls seriously ill or is injured while abroad, their immediate care is handled by the nearest hospital. But once the patient is stabilised, the question becomes: where should they recover?
Repatriation is different from an emergency medical evacuation. A medevac moves a patient to the nearest adequate medical facility as quickly as possible, often in a life-threatening situation.
Medical repatriation, on the other hand, is about bringing the patient home once they are stable enough to be moved safely but still too unwell to fly on a commercial airline.
The flight is one part of a repatriation. It also requires coordination between the overseas hospital and the receiving hospital at home, ground ambulances at both ends, flight permits and overflight clearances across multiple countries, immigration arrangements for a patient on a stretcher, and continuous medical care throughout the entire transfer.
A dedicated flight physician and ICU nurse travel with the patient to ensure there is no gap in care from the moment they leave one hospital bed to the moment they arrive in another.
For families, medical repatriation removes the burden of navigating foreign healthcare systems and allows the patient to recover in familiar surroundings, close to the people who matter most.
What We Handle So You Do Not Have To
Medical repatriation involves dozens of moving parts across multiple countries. Our operations team manages every detail so your family can focus on the patient.
Medical Records Coordination
Our flight physician liaises directly with the treating hospital to review and transfer all medical records, imaging, and treatment notes.
Ground Ambulance at Origin
We arrange a fully equipped ground ambulance with medical crew to collect the patient from the overseas hospital and transport them to the aircraft.
Flight Permits and Overflight Clearances
Our operations team secures all necessary flight permits, landing permissions, and overflight clearances for every country along the route.
Immigration and Customs
We handle all immigration and customs documentation for the patient, including arrangements for stretcher passengers who cannot pass through standard border controls.
In-Flight Medical Care
A dedicated flight physician and ICU-trained nurse provide continuous medical monitoring and treatment throughout the entire flight.
Ground Ambulance at Destination
A ground ambulance meets the aircraft on arrival and transfers the patient directly to the receiving hospital, maintaining continuous care.
Hospital Admission Coordination
We coordinate directly with the receiving hospital to arrange admission, bed availability, and specialist consultations before the patient arrives.
Insurance Liaison and Billing
We work directly with your insurance company or corporate assistance provider to manage authorisations, claims documentation, and billing on your behalf.
How Medical Evacuation & Repatriation Works
From your first call to patient handover at the home hospital, here is what happens at every step.
Initial Call and Case Assessment
You call our 24/7 operations centre. We gather the patient's location, medical condition, and where they need to go. Our flight physician reviews the case and confirms the patient is stable enough for transport.
Hospital-to-Hospital Coordination
Our medical team contacts the treating hospital overseas to obtain medical records and coordinate discharge. Simultaneously, we arrange admission at the receiving hospital and confirm specialist availability.
Mission Planning and Permits
Our operations team files flight plans, secures overflight and landing permits across every country on the route, arranges ground ambulances at both ends, and handles immigration paperwork for the patient.
Bed-to-Bed Transfer
Our medical crew collects the patient from the hospital bedside abroad, transfers them to the aircraft with continuous monitoring, provides ICU-level care throughout the flight, and delivers them to the receiving hospital at home.
When Is Medical Evacuation & Repatriation Needed?
These are the situations where families, insurers, and hospitals most commonly request medical repatriation.
Family Member Hospitalised Abroad
A loved one has been involved in an accident or fallen seriously ill while travelling or working overseas. They have been stabilised at a local hospital but need to come home for continued recovery, closer to family and their regular medical team.
Specialist Treatment Needed at Home
The patient requires specialist treatment, surgery, or rehabilitation that is available in their home country but not at the overseas hospital. Repatriation allows them to access the specific care they need without further delay.
Long-Term Recovery at Home
For patients facing weeks or months of rehabilitation, recovering at home provides emotional comfort, family support, and familiar surroundings that significantly improve outcomes. Extended hospital stays abroad are also far more expensive and isolating.
Inadequate Care Level Abroad
The overseas hospital is unable to provide the level of care the patient needs, whether due to limited facilities, equipment, or specialist availability. Repatriation to a better-equipped hospital can be critical to the patient's outcome.
Insurance or Corporate Policy Requirement
Many travel insurance policies and corporate duty-of-care programmes require repatriation to a specific facility or home country once the patient is stable. We work directly with insurers and corporate assistance providers to fulfil these requirements efficiently.
Our Aircraft for Repatriation Missions
We own all four jets in our fleet. The aircraft assigned depends on the distance, the patient's condition, and the number of companions travelling.
Fast and efficient for regional repatriation missions across Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Configured with a full ICU stretcher system, monitoring equipment, and seating for up to 2 companions.
Larger cabin and extended range for long-distance repatriation missions to Australia, Japan, the Middle East, and beyond. Dual-stretcher capability for missions involving two patients or complex medical equipment setups.
Medical Evacuation & Repatriation Questions Answered
We answer the questions families ask most often about bringing a loved one home from hospital overseas.
Most medical repatriations can be organised within 24 to 48 hours from the initial call. This includes medical records review, hospital-to-hospital coordination, flight permit applications, ground ambulance arrangements, and immigration clearances.
In urgent cases where the patient's condition is deteriorating, we can accelerate the process and have a mission airborne within 6 to 12 hours. The timeline depends on the complexity of permits required for the origin country and the patient's medical stability for transport.
Yes, and we strongly encourage it. Our Learjet 60SE accommodates up to 2 companions alongside the patient and medical crew. The Hawker 800XP, with its larger cabin, can seat up to 3 companions.
Having a family member on board provides emotional comfort to the patient and helps with communication at both the origin and destination hospitals. Companion seating is included in the mission cost at no extra charge.
Many travel insurance, health insurance, and corporate insurance policies include medical repatriation coverage, though the specific terms and limits vary by policy. We work directly with insurance companies and assistance providers to handle the authorisation and billing process on your behalf.
Our operations team can liaise with your insurer from the very first call to confirm coverage and obtain the necessary approvals, so you do not have to navigate the claims process alone during a stressful time.
Our aircraft are fully equipped to transport ventilator-dependent patients. We carry transport ventilators that provide the same modes of ventilation available in a hospital ICU, including volume-controlled and pressure-controlled settings.
Our flight physician and ICU nurse manage the ventilator throughout the flight, adjusting settings as needed for altitude changes and the patient's condition. We have successfully repatriated hundreds of ventilator-dependent patients across Asia-Pacific.
Our flight physician contacts the treating hospital directly to review the patient's medical records, current condition, and treatment plan. We coordinate the timing of discharge and patient handover with the hospital's medical team.
Our ground ambulance crew collects the patient from the bedside at the overseas hospital, and we ensure all medical notes, imaging, and medications are transferred with the patient. At the destination, we coordinate admission with the receiving hospital so there is no gap in care at any point during the journey.
We handle the vast majority of the paperwork on your behalf. This includes flight permits, overflight clearances, medical fitness-to-fly certificates, customs and immigration documentation for the patient, and hospital transfer forms.
From the family's side, we typically need the patient's passport details, insurance policy information if applicable, and any existing medical reports from the treating hospital.
Our operations coordinator will guide you through exactly what is needed during the initial call, and we keep the administrative burden on the family as light as possible.
Your Loved One Needs to Come Home.
We Are Ready.
Our medical operations team is standing by to assess the case, coordinate with the hospital, and plan the repatriation. No obligation. No delay.
+65 9152 0777Or email sales@seletarjet.com · Second line: +65 8799 8186