Cyprus considers dedicated air ambulance service

Cyprus is considering establishing a dedicated air ambulance capability after concerns that reliance on overseas providers is delaying the transfer of critically ill patients for treatment abroad.

The country’s Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) currently contracts air ambulance providers based outside Cyprus, primarily in Greece and, to a lesser extent, Israel. Around 100 patients required dedicated air transport during the first 10 months of the HIO’s overseas referral programme, according to figures reported by the Cyprus Federation of Patients Associations (OSAK).

Of these, 23 cases were classified as life-threatening and 25 as urgent.

The current arrangements can result in transfer times of between 12 and 15 hours, including three to four hours required to prepare an aircraft, assemble a medical team, and obtain necessary flight permissions.

The HIO spends approximately €2.6 million annually on external air ambulance services, according to the Cyprus Mail.

Report of patient delay increases concerns over system viability

Concerns over the system intensified after a patient was unable to reach Greece in time to be considered for a lung transplant earlier this year.

The HIO said it was notified shortly after 11pm on 2 February that a donor lung was available and that the patient needed to reach the receiving hospital by 3am the following morning.

It contacted all five of its contracted air ambulance providers and investigated commercial flight options, but no aircraft could complete the transfer within the required three-hour window. The HIO said it also sought an extension from the receiving hospital but this was not possible.

The case has increased calls for an aircraft to be permanently available in Cyprus.

HIO Director Dr Monica Kyriakou has confirmed that options for improving the country’s air ambulance capability are being assessed, although no final decision on acquiring an aircraft has been made.

President Nikos Christodoulides has also discussed the issue with patient representatives. One proposal under consideration is for the planned National Ambulance Service Authority to operate its own aircraft, potentially using funding from Cyprus’s allocation under the European Union’s 2028–2035 budget.

The wider overseas treatment programme has handled more than 1,200 applications since the HIO assumed responsibility in October 2025. Parliamentary figures show that 889 applications had been approved and 657 patients had travelled or remained abroad for treatment by mid-September.

Cyprus’s limited resources mean that it calls on non-state providers for aerial firefighting and air medical services.