Emergency flights: Extremely expensive.

The recent case of transporting a patient from Ha Tinh to Military Hospital 108 in Hanoi for emergency treatment by helicopter has caused a stir in public opinion. So, who can hire this service, and what are the costs?

Medical helicopter ambulance services have been available in Vietnam for over 10 years, primarily serving oil and gas companies operating in the unique terrain of offshore oil rigs. However, with the development of the economy , more and more people are willing to call for helicopter transport to higher-level hospitals to take critically ill family members for emergency treatment.

The lowest price is $3,650 per hour of flight.

The current provider of emergency helicopter services is the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation - Ministry of National Defence . This corporation has two subsidiaries that operate these flights: the Northern Helicopter Company, headquartered in Gia Lam, Hanoi, and the Southern Helicopter Company in Vung Tau.

Mr. Le Phuong Nam, an officer from the Southern Helicopter Company's Chamber of Commerce, stated that the lowest service price offered by this company is $3,650 per hour (excluding VAT). For customers who have signed a contract in advance, the helicopter will arrive 45 minutes after the call, with payment made later. For individual customers, the helicopter may arrive later due to the need to survey the terrain of the takeoff and landing points; customers must also deposit 100% of the initial estimated cost based on the flight distance. This company currently has four helicopters that can provide services such as medical emergencies, tourism, and photography.

The service prices of Northern Helicopter Company are higher than those of Southern companies due to differences in their aircraft fleets. This company currently operates 7 helicopters: Mi-17, Mi-172 (manufactured in Russia), EC-155B1 (French), etc., with service prices ranging from $4,500 to $7,300 per flight hour. "Northern Helicopter Company's fleet has recently added many new, modern aircraft, so the rental prices are commensurate with the investment costs," a specialist from the Marketing Department of Northern Helicopter Company stated.

Customers needing helicopter rescue can contact these two companies directly via their websites or call local emergency medical centers (SOS) or family clinics.

Not as easy as I hoped.

According to the Marketing Department specialist.   Northern Helicopter Company has a relatively low proportion of emergency medical flights compared to other services, but it still performs several dozen flights annually. Its clients are mainly wealthy individuals and tourists (with transportation costs covered by insurance), but also include civil servants and ordinary citizens.

"Saving lives is like putting out a fire," so in most cases, when advised to use a helicopter to transport a patient for emergency care, family members have to grit their teeth and spend hundreds of millions of dong. Given the nature of an emergency, even if they accept debt and sell their land to rent a helicopter, the patient may still suffer permanent injuries or even lose their life.

The flight transporting patients from Ha Tinh to Hanoi for emergency treatment took place on the evening of August 10th. (Photo: INTERNET)

Recently, on the evening of August 10th, the case of transporting a traffic accident victim from Ha Tinh to Military Hospital 108 in Hanoi for emergency treatment caused a stir in public opinion. However, doctors were still unable to save the legs of teacher Tran Thi Thao because she arrived at the hospital too late. Meanwhile, there was a flight that cost hundreds of millions of dong, but the plane was still unavailable.   It landed successfully. This was the case when a childless family in Lai Chau urgently hired a helicopter to rescue their premature baby boy in late 2011. When the helicopter arrived in Lai Chau, the family had to seek help everywhere to get permission to land, but the pilot announced that it couldn't land due to thick fog. Ultimately, the baby was transported to Hanoi by ambulance, but the family still had to pay 50% of the flight cost, over 200 million VND.

In isolated areas like Con Dao Island, the Southern Helicopter Company also conducts many humanitarian rescue missions, transporting seriously injured people to Vung Tau General Hospital or Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. In these cases, the local authorities cover the service costs according to the State's humanitarian policy.

Fast licensing

Helicopters only fly at low altitudes, so they are subject to licensing by the General Department of Operations - Ministry of National Defense. The best conditions for helicopter operation are during the day, but emergency flights must be on standby 24/7. All emergency flights are licensed very quickly. Air traffic control monitoring of flights is conducted every 10 minutes. Within a 400 km radius, helicopters can transport patients directly to medical facilities (non-stop flight), but for longer distances such as from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, the flight will have to stop for refueling at two points.