Critically Ill Woman Flown From USA To Chennai In 26-Hour Flight

The treatment in the US cost them much more than airlifting her to India due to issues with her health insurance cover.

A patient being taken to the hospital from the air ambulance ( Image Source :ICATT )

Chennai: A 67-year-old critically-ill woman with a critical cardiac condition from Bengaluru was airlifted from the United States to Chennai on a 26 hours air ambulance flight on Tuesday. The flight from Portland in the US reached Chennai via Iceland and Turkey. The ambulance flight costed $1,33,000 (over Rs 1 crore) for the trip.

According to a report on Times of India, the patient, a resident of Indiranagar in Bengaluru was residing along with her children in Oregon for a few years. However, she recently developed a heart condition and was getting treatment in the US. 

Dr Shalini Nalwad, co-founder and director of ICATT, the air ambulance services firm said, the woman's family wanted to airlift her from the US and sought our help.

The treatment in the US was also longer and cost them much more than airlifting her to India, she said. The patient also had issues with the health insurance since she was an Indian passport holder, she added.

Therefore, on Sunday morning, the woman was taken in an ambulance from Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Centre to Portland International Airport. At the Airport, she was put onto Challenger 605, a super-midsized private jet customized with ICU. 

Dr Rahul Singh, Co-founder of ICATT said, the ambulance with ICU facilities was readied with a medical team including three doctors and two paramedics to monitor patient.

She was first flown to Reykjavik airport in 7.5 hours and from there she was flew to Istanbul, Turkey and was then flown to Diyarbakir airport. 

From Diyarbakir airport, she landed in Chennai at 2.10 am on Tuesday. The woman was then rushed to Apollo Hospital after completing the immigration procedures.