Are you eligible for one of our missions? Submit a flight request today to take the first step. Our dedicated Mission Team is ready to help coordinate your free medical transportation.

MEDICAL TRANSPORT

Flights for patients traveling to and from medical treatments that are not available locally. These can be one-time operations or ongoing routine treatments. We help patients with any physical medical condition, provided they are ambulatory, medically stable, non-contagious, non-psychiatric and able to enter and exit a small non-pressurized aircraft with little to no assistance.

TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS & DONORS

Flights to bring transplant recipients and living donors to hospitals for organ transplant procedures. Including pre- and post-op appointments. These missions are accepted on a limited basis due to time constraints and distances involved.

COMPASSION

On a limited basis, we provide flights for persons traveling for compassionate reasons such as, but not limited to, travel to provide caregiving for an ill family member or friend, and travel to visit a seriously or terminally ill family member.

ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL

Flights for active duty and former military personnel and their families, in situations where the military cannot provide that assistance. In some situations, we may be able to coordinate longer-distance travel via commercial airlines.

SPECIALITY CAMPS AND RETREATS

Flight for children and adults going to a variety of camps and retreats, including burn survivors, children with diabetes, families impacted by HIV or AIDS, pediatric cancer patients or childhood cancer survivors and many others.

DISASTER RESPONSE

In the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, tornados, earthquakes and other disasters, Angel Flight Soars can dispatch large numbers of volunteer aircraft to the disaster scene to help relocate displaced residents. We can also transport small rescue-type cargo and relief supplies in addition to transporting rescue workers and search dogs. ANGEL FLIGHT has been involved in the rescue efforts of every major hurricane and disaster in our region since 9/11, and even assisted the government agencies during that crisis and the recent COVID pandemic.

Anyone needing medical treatment who cannot, either for financial or other reasons, use commercial airlines can request an Angel Flight Soars Mission. These flights may be routine medical treatments, one-time operations, transplants or other compassionate purposes. 

Patients must be able to enter and exit aircraft without assistance, able to travel in a non-pressurized aircraft, and preferably, with a travel companion.

Healthcare professionals and facilities can coordinate with Angel Flight Soars so we can match volunteer private pilots with patients who need free air transportation. 

When a patient is too weak for a long car ride, a flight in a private aircraft can cut travel time in half. Air travel generally offers a smoother ride as well. Patients prone to infection benefit substantially when traveling with Angel Flight Soars because they are not exposed to large numbers of people, as would be necessary with public transportation and commercial flights.

Since 1983, Angel Flight Soars is the original volunteer pilot organization serving those who reside in or are traveling to or through:

• 

  Georgia            

• Alabama

• Mississippi

• Tennessee

• North Carolina

• South Carolina

And, we know Angels everywhere! We coordinate with other volunteer pilot organizations within the Air Care Alliance to organize additional flights, when your needs extend beyond our region.

Patients must meet the following criteria before being accepted for air transportation:

• Have legitimate medical need for services not available locally
• Car travel is too difficult and/or time consuming
• Cannot afford alternative travel costs
• Not able to travel on public transportation due to condition or immune deficiency
• Medically stable and able to walk & climb stairs and enter & exit aircraft without assistance. Unless the patient is a child under 6 years and can be carried. 
• Able to ride in a small, non-pressurized airplane with NO bathroom facilities, and travel in a seated position. 
• Provide own ground transportation TO the departure airport and then FROM the arrival airport to the treatment center. 
• Agree not to exceed aircraft weight limitations for baggage and passengers. Personal belongings must be in a soft-sided bag. 
• Patient acknowledges that weather can cause delays or mission cancellation, and will have other transportation available, or be able to reschedule the flight.
• Patient will call if they must make other travel plans or if their treatment appointment date or time changes.
• Wheelchairs and strollers are not permitted on plane, with the exception of collapsible umbrella strollers. 
• Patient will not wear colognes or perfumes on day of flight. 
• Provide the name, address, phone number and email of their current physician, as well as an authorization statement from your doctor addressing your condition and authorizing air travel. 
• Each adult passenger must sign a waiver for themselves and any accompanying minors. These will be provided before boarding by the volunteer pilot.
• Patient agrees to give a handwritten note of thanks to the pilot.
• Allow Angel Flight Soars to share their information with our sister organizations, as needed, to coordinate missions. 
• Smoking is NOT permitted during flights. 

To schedule your mission, contact Angel Flight Soars as early as possible, at least 3-30 working days before you need to depart. The earlier we get notice, the better our chances of locating an available pilot. 

We recommend that passengers eat a light meal an hour or two before the flight, as flying on a full or empty stomach is not recommended. Motion sickness medications may be helpful, but should only be used with the consent of the patient's physician. Angel Flight Soars volunteer pilots cannot provide any type of medications to passengers. 

Our volunteer pilots are highly skilled at flying, but have no medical training, and cannot offer medical advice or support. The planes we use are private aircraft. They carry no medical equipment and they cannot accommodate stretchers. 

When a patient requires oxygen or other small, portable support equipment, arrangements can generally be made to allow its use during the flight, at the pilot's discretion. 

Our flights may be affected by adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen events, which can cause a pilot to delay or cancel a flight. These circumstances are usually determined the day before your flight, and we try to give you as much notice as possible. 

If your appointment is not the type that can be rescheduled, we recommend you have an alternate transportation plan.

Determination of a patient's capability to be transported by private aircraft is entirely the responsibility of the patient and his or her physician. 

Angel Flight Soars provides flights on an as-needed basis. We are not an emergency or last-minute service, although we do our best whenever the need arises. 

The aircraft we use have limited space and restricted weight-carrying capability. Private planes typically have seating for 2-3 passengers.

 

Each plane has a weight limit that must be observed. Passengers should plan to travel light. Shipping extra luggage or equipment ahead may be necessary. 

At the time you request a flight, please be prepared to give us the approximate weights of each passenger and their bags. 

Generally, your bag should weigh 5 pounds per night that you are away. One or two small soft-sided gym bags are acceptable. A soft-sided gym bag is preferable because it permits the most efficient use of space.