In an emergency situation, a fixed wing(airplane) air ambulance crew takes about 2 hours to take off. Add the time it takes for an air ambulance to get from its base to your closest airport(if there is not an air ambulance residing there) to the initial 2 hours and that is the response time.

If you have an emergency and need to be airlifted to the closest hospital, pick up the phone and dial 911.

For non emergency flights, you can make reservations a month in advance. However, about two or three days advance notice is all that is usually needed.

If it is an international flight, it might take a little longer to have all of the necessary preflight paperwork in order. Make sure to have the passports of all passengers travelling ready in the beginning. The sooner that information is handed to the preflight team, the sooner the air ambulance is able to lift off.

**When transferring a patient to a hospital, you must call the receiving hospital and find an available bed. An air ambulance can not lift off to transfer a patient to a new hospital without a receiving bed available.