Service · Infants and children
Neonatal and paediatric transfers are not scaled-down adult missions. They need different equipment, differently trained crews, and a receiving unit that has agreed the plan before anyone leaves the ground.
Service · Infants and children
A newborn requiring transfer is one of the most demanding missions in medical aviation. Thermal regulation, the physiology of a premature infant at altitude, the fragility of vascular access, and the sheer difficulty of assessing a patient who cannot describe anything all raise the standard of preparation required.
Paediatric transfers sit on a spectrum from a well child with a broken femur to a critically ill infant on respiratory support, and the planning changes completely across that range.
Wherever aircraft configuration and clinical circumstances allow, a parent travels with the child. Separating a family at the worst moment of their lives is something to avoid unless the equipment load genuinely makes it impossible — and when it does, we tell the family exactly why, and how the other parent will get there.
Memberships are individual and non-transferable, and that includes infants. A baby is not covered by a parent's membership. Membership is available from birth, subject to medical eligibility, and for families travelling together this is the detail most often missed until it matters.
Case types
The clinical demands change dramatically across the paediatric age range, and so does the crew and equipment specification.
Incubator transport with respiratory support, thermal control and minimal handling protocols, planned with both neonatal units.
Congenital conditions, jaundice, feeding difficulties and post-delivery complications requiring specialist assessment elsewhere.
Respiratory infections, dehydration and post-surgical transfers, where deterioration can be rapid and warning signs are subtle.
Trauma, burns and acute illness, with age-appropriate sedation and analgesia and a parent present wherever possible.
Orthopaedic injury, appendicitis and post-operative transfers — closer to adult missions, but still with paediatric dosing and consent considerations.
Clinically similar to adult transfers, with attention to consent, privacy and the young person's own understanding of what is happening.
Mission log · A neonatal transfer
Neonatal missions have the longest preparation-to-flight-time ratio of anything we do, and that is exactly as it should be.
The referring and receiving neonatal units agree the transfer, the timing and the level of support required. A cot is confirmed, not assumed.
Transport incubator configured, ventilator settings matched, weight-based drugs calculated and drawn, and a neonatal-competent crew assigned.
The infant is optimised in the referring unit before transfer begins. Moving an unstable neonate to save an hour is rarely the right trade.
Ground and air legs planned to minimise handling, temperature loss and vibration, with continuous monitoring and documented observations.
Direct handover to the receiving neonatal team, with the referring unit's notes, imaging and results travelling with the infant.
Neonatal and paediatric transfers are accepted subject to clinical assessment, equipment and crew availability, and agreement between the referring and receiving units.
Questions we are asked
If your situation is not covered here, the coordination centre will answer directly, day or night.
Call +44 20 3671 5709Yes. Every traveller, regardless of age, must have their own active EuropeCair membership to be eligible for services. Memberships are individual and non-transferable, and membership is available from birth, subject to medical eligibility.
Wherever aircraft configuration and clinical circumstances allow, yes. On heavily equipped neonatal missions the incubator and crew sometimes leave room for only one accompanying adult, and occasionally for none — in which case we plan how the parents get to the destination.
Often, with the right equipment and crew, and always as a decision made jointly between the referring and receiving neonatal teams. Gestational age, weight, respiratory support and stability all feed into it.
Weight-based and calculated before departure, with the doses drawn up and independently checked rather than worked out in flight. This is standard practice in paediatric transport and it is not negotiable.
Then the mission does not depart. A confirmed cot and an accepting consultant at the receiving unit are prerequisites, not details to resolve en route.
Arrange it before you need it
If a transport is needed now, call the coordination centre. If you are planning ahead, a EuropeCair membership is $600 a year and covers unlimited medically necessary repatriation flights.
