Press Release

Issued by LifeFlight Rescue Air Ambulance.

September 27, 2023

A LifeFlight Rescue Air Ambulance jet crew has taken off from Townsville Airport in Australia to repatriate a critically ill Queenslander from overseas (2.30pm Wednesday 27).

"Today's mission is clinically complicated but nothing our teams can't handle. It involves moving a patient from Bali to Darwin for high-level care. Our team has departed our Australian base with medical equipment and supplies to treat the patient condition and we will be monitoring the flight constantly from our ops centre and also through our duty of care network clinically," said LifeFlight air operations manager Tyson Smith.

After a five-hour flight, the customised Bombardier Challenger 604 aeromedical jet will arrive at Denpasar Airport in Bali late this evening local time, where the expert LifeFlight medical team will take over the in-person care of the patient.

"We are talking about an ICU ward that can fly and move between countries with all the equipment that you would get at your local hospital or your higher-level hospitals, and we take that directly to the patient's bedside where they are," said Mr Smith.

The critical care doctor and flight nurse will assess then prepare the patient to be transferred by local ambulance into the waiting jet. The Challenger 604 captain and first officer will have refuelled the aircraft and have it ready to depart as soon as the patient has been safely loaded aboard. The patient will receive intensive care equivalent medical care throughout the two nd a half hour flight.

"Everyone at some stage could need LifeFlight. It's just simply a matter of fact. The main people we work with at our level are assistance companies, so your travel insurance company. This is why it's very important to get travel insurance before you travel overseas; to read the fine print to make sure you're covered for everything you're going to be doing while you're overseas," said Mr Smith.

The aircraft is expected to land in Darwin in Australia around 11.00pm tonight. It is believed the patient will be transferred to hospital for further treatment.