AeroRide does not operate air ambulances. We broker passenger charters, and a medical flight is a different service with different aircraft, different crew and different approvals. This page exists because people search for this in a bad moment and deserve a straight answer about how it works, not a sales pitch.
What an air ambulance actually is
An aircraft configured as a flying intensive care unit: a stretcher, oxygen, monitors, suction and often a ventilator, with a doctor or a flight nurse on board.
A passenger charter is none of that. It has seats. Putting a patient who needs monitoring into a seat is not a medical evacuation, and no responsible broker will pretend otherwise.
The crew matters as much as the aircraft. Medical crews are trained for flight conditions: cabin pressure changes affect bleeding, swelling and oxygen levels.
Who arranges it
Your travel insurer, in most cases. Policies with evacuation cover use an assistance company that has its own network of air ambulance operators and decides, with the treating doctor, whether the patient can fly and how.
Call the number on your policy first, before arranging anything privately. If you organise a flight on your own, many policies will not reimburse it. AeroRide sells flights, not insurance: confirm cover with your insurer.
Without insurance, families contact specialist air ambulance operators directly. Cost is paid up front, and it is high.
Why the region needs it more than most
Hospitals are unevenly distributed. San José, Panama City and San Salvador have serious hospitals. Roatán, the Belizean cayes, Bocas del Toro and the Pacific coast of Nicaragua do not have the same capacity for complex trauma or cardiac care.
Distances are short by air, long by anything else. Roatán is 96.1 nautical miles from San Pedro Sula, and 667.2 from Miami. San José is 974.4 from Miami and San Salvador 891.3. A land transfer over those distances is rarely an option.
That is why our own guides insist on evacuation cover for the islands and the remote coasts: not because the region is dangerous, but because the nearest suitable hospital can be a flight away.
The two decisions that drive everything
Is the patient stable enough to fly, and in what configuration. The treating doctor decides. It is not a choice the family or the broker makes.
Where the patient is going. Sometimes to a better hospital in the same country. Sometimes home, which is repatriation and usually a longer flight with a different aircraft.
How long it takes
Rarely the same hour. Activating the assistance company, getting the medical report, finding an available aircraft and crew, and clearing customs and immigration at both ends all take time.
Border formalities apply even to medical flights, though authorities usually expedite them.
Night operations depend on the airfield. Several regional strips are daylight only, which can determine the departure time.
What we can do, and what we cannot
We cannot fly a patient who needs medical care in flight. That is not our service, and we will say so plainly rather than take the booking.
We can help with the parts around it: flying family members to where the patient is, or moving someone who has been discharged and needs no clinical support in flight, if a doctor has confirmed that in writing. We check travel advisories before confirming each route and tell you if they change.
And we can tell you which airfields are usable at which hours, which sometimes matters to whoever is coordinating the evacuation.
Before you travel
Read the evacuation clause in your policy. Check whether it covers transfer from an island to the mainland as well as the international leg, and what the limit is.
Carry the assistance number offline, not only in an email you might not be able to open.
Register with your embassy if you travel often, since consulates assist with repatriation logistics.
Frequently asked questions
Does AeroRide operate air ambulances?
No. We broker passenger charters. A medical flight needs a specially configured aircraft and a medical crew, and we will tell you so rather than take the booking.
Who should I call first?
The assistance number on your travel insurance policy. Arranging a flight privately without contacting them can void reimbursement.
Can a normal charter carry a sick passenger?
Only if the treating doctor confirms in writing that no clinical support is needed in flight. Otherwise it is an air ambulance case.
How much does an air ambulance cost?
It varies enormously with distance, aircraft and medical team. Specialist operators quote it case by case, and insurers with evacuation cover handle it directly.
Why is evacuation cover so important in this region?
Because the islands and remote coasts are far from hospitals equipped for complex cases. Roatán is 667.2 nautical miles from Miami.
Do medical flights skip immigration?
No, but authorities usually expedite the formalities. They still take time at both ends.
If you are dealing with this right now
Call the assistance number on the patient's insurance policy. If there is no insurance, contact a specialist air ambulance operator or the nearest embassy, which keeps lists of providers.
We check travel advisories before confirming each route and tell you if they change.