How Thai Airways Assists Sick Passengers During Travel?

When you are dealing with a medical condition, the thought of air travel can bring a unique set of challenges and anxieties. Like other significant international airlines, Thai Airways is dedicated to making sure all of its passengers are comfortable and safe, particularly those who need special assistance or medical care. This article provides you with a complete understanding of Thai Airways’ special assistance for sick passenger policies and procedures. To guarantee a seamless and secure travel experience from booking to baggage claim, we will go over important procedures including the required Medical Information Form (MEDIF), the need to bring necessary medical equipment, and the required medical clearances for different diseases.

Overview of Thai Airways Special Assistance for Sick Passengers:

Flying puts your body through a lot, from changes in oxygen and pressure to long periods of sitting, which can be tough on existing issues. To make sure your trip is comfortable, here are the essential guidelines you should follow before you take off.

Consult a Doctor Before Flying with Thai Airways:

If you have any medical condition then before you book your ticket with Thai Airways, you must consult your doctor. Seeking medical clearance beforehand is the best way to ensure your safety and minimize risks. Specifically, passengers with unstable or complex medical conditions, or those requiring special assistance, need official medical approval to travel.

Carry Medications in Hand Luggage:

You must keep your vital medications in your carry-on, since checked luggage can be delayed or lost, having them with you guarantees you will have access when you need them, even if your other bags don’t arrive on time.

Additional Guidelines for Sick Passengers on Thai 

Airways:

Here are some other things to note for sick passengers travelling on Thai Airways flight. 

• Disabled Passengers:

If you need special assistance during your journey, inform Thai Airways in advance. For safety, disabled passengers require an accompanying person, and their staff members will make sure all necessary support is arranged during the flight.

• Managing Medical Device Travel:

Passengers with metallic prostheses, pacemakers, internal defibrillators, or other medical devices must bring along a valid medical certificate. This not only ensures safe passage through airport security but also confirms that the equipment is approved for in-flight use.

• Passengers with Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Conditions:

You need to protect your health by taking precautionary steps. To prevent a medical emergency, ensure you have a full supply of all cardiac drugs, like sublingual nitroglycerin, and always carry them with you. This simple step guarantees access if checked bags are delayed. Furthermore, create a written log of all your medicines, their tablet strength, and dosing schedule to expedite replacement if they’re misplaced. While in transit, avoid excessive physical activity like walking around the cabin unnecessarily.

Moreover, Air travel should be avoided if you have any of the following conditions: 

• After a Heart Attack or Heart Failure: 

If you have recently experienced a myocardial infarction (MI), have unstable chest pain, or have been diagnosed with new or worsening congestive heart failure (CHF), you must hold off on air travel for at least six weeks. The main requirement is that you must be free of chest pain and have returned to your normal level of daily activity before boarding a flight.

• Following Chest Surgery: 

Procedures like Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) or other chest surgeries involve introducing air into the chest cavity also makes flying restricted. This is because flying involves decreased atmospheric pressure, this transient air could expand and cause a serious condition called barotrauma. To eliminate this risk, you must wait two weeks after surgery to ensure all that air has been naturally absorbed by the body.

• Heart failure that remains uncontrolled.

• Hypertension that is untreated and severe, particularly with a systolic pressure exceeding 160 mmHg. Patients with well-controlled hypertension may fly, but they must bring their medication into the cabin.

• Arrhythmia (irregular heart rhythm) that is either untreated or unstable. For travel, the rhythm must be regulated, and anticoagulation therapy (if prescribed) must be current.

• Decompensated or severe valvular diseases.

• Recent history of scuba diving (less than 24 hours ago) or suspected decompression sickness.

• Any form of pneumothorax that is unstable or has not been fully treated.

• Pleural effusion (fluid around the lung) that has not been adequately drained.

• Severe Asthma and Flying: 

Air travel is contraindicated for individuals with labile (unstable), severe asthma, or who have recently been hospitalized due to their condition. If your asthma is less severe and you are cleared to fly, you must hand-carry all essential medications, especially your rapid-relief inhaler, in your carry-on luggage.

• COPD and Pre-Flight Assessment: 

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) including those with chronic bronchitis, or other lung ailments are highly susceptible to significant inflight hypoxemia (low blood oxygen) based on their current baseline blood oxygen level (PaO2​). To evaluate fitness to fly, a simple pre-flight assessment is recommended: the ability to walk 50 meters or climb one flight of stairs without experiencing dyspnea (shortness of breath).

• Unstable or Severe Respiratory Issues: 

Do not fly if you have uncontrolled respiratory failure, or if your condition is unstable enough to require mechanical ventilation or constant, specialized care during the trip.

• Active Infections: 

Passengers with an active pulmonary infection or pulmonary tuberculosis (especially in immunodeficient individuals treated within the last two weeks) should postpone travel.

• Recent Surgery/Specific Conditions: 

Travel is not advised within three weeks of thoracic surgery. Also, exercise special caution if you have a tracheostomy due to the low humidity in the cabin, or a neuromuscular disease that causes hypoventilation and requires mechanical ventilation.

• Passengers with Central Nervous System Conditions:

• If you are dealing with uncontrolled epilepsy or are within two weeks of brain surgery, even a simple one, you should not fly. Although stable patients are usually fine, a long flight presents unique challenges that can make a seizure more likely. These challenges include the mild oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) and changes in breathing patterns (hyperventilation) associated with cabin pressure. 

When combined with common travel stressors like fatigue, anxiety, and irregular medication timing, the risk is compounded. While it’s not wise to change your anti-convulsive medication just before your trip, you should consult your physician to obtain a supply buffer against potential flight delays. The absolute minimum requirement is that all passengers with epilepsy must pack a sufficient quantity of medication in their carry-on bag to cover the flight and any unexpected travel interruptions.

• Post-Stroke Travel: 

A waiting period of at least two weeks is typically required after a stroke (CVA) before a person is cleared for air travel. This ensures the individual is stable and recovering from the initial event.

• Managing Insufficiency: 

Because reduced oxygen levels at altitude can pose a risk to those with cerebral artery insufficiency, securing extra oxygen for the flight is a sensible precaution to prevent complications.

• Patients who have sustained an accident or brain injury within the 15 days immediately preceding the planned departure date.

• Patients presenting with untreated brain edema or those who have undergone a lumbar puncture within one week of the scheduled departure.

• Brain Scans with Contrast: 

You cannot fly if you have had a brain scan using contrast media in the three days immediately before your flight.

• Psychiatric Patients: 

You must get medical clearance before booking or confirming travel.

• Flying with Psychotic Disorders: 

Passengers with psychotic disorders can generally travel if they are stable on their medication and have a companion who is aware of their condition and can assist, often along with sedation.

• Flying Safely with Gastrointestinal Concerns on Thai Airways:

Here is what to consider if you have a gastrointestinal condition:

• Understand Gas Discomfort: 

Even healthy passengers may feel abdominal discomfort because the gas in the stomach and intestines naturally expands at altitude. This is generally harmless but can be noticeable.

• Post-Surgery Caution is Key: 

Abdominal surgery, particularly any procedure involving the suturing of a hollow organ (like the bowel), poses a serious risk during flight. The expanding gas can lead to a dangerous perforation or internal haemorrhage. For your safety, air travel should be avoided for two full weeks after any such surgery.

• Managing Colostomies: 

Travelers with a colostomy are not at increased risk of serious complications. However, the pressure change may cause intestinal gas to increase fecal output. It is highly recommended to use a larger colostomy bag and to pack ample extra supplies in your cabin hand luggage to allow for more frequent changes.

• When Travel is Prohibited: You must not fly if you have:

• An intestinal blockage (occlusion).
• Active bleeding from an ulcer or a ruptured esophageal varix. Travel after bleeding is only safe if you wait 3 weeks and have a haemoglobin level over 10 g/dL, or if a doctor confirms endoscopic healing.
• Severe gastroenteritis causing dehydration.
• Had a recent procedure: gastric or intestinal surgery within the last 7 days, or a colonoscopy within the last 24 hours.

• Thai Airways Special Assistance for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT):

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), often called “economy class syndrome,” can affect passengers during long flights due to cramped seating, lack of movement, and dehydration, which thickens the blood. This can lead to poor circulation, swelling in the legs and feet, and in some cases, formation of a blood clot in the deep veins. 

To lower your risk, try simple steps like wearing comfy shoes or removing them mid-flight, stretching your arms and legs regularly, and flexing your calves. Moreover, you can take a short walk around the cabin every couple of hours, drink plenty of water, skip the sleeping pills, and go easy on alcohol. 

• Thai Airways Special Assistance for Other Medical Conditions:

• Eye conditions like a recent retinal detachment (within 3 weeks), acute glaucoma, cataract surgery (within 1 month), unhealed keratitis, or any major eye surgery in the past 3 months make air travel unsafe.
  
• Acute sinus infections or ear infections (otitis) can worsen mid-flight, so you should avoid flying.
  
• Anyone who has had ear surgery within the past 3 months should also avoid flying.
  
• If your hemoglobin (Hb) is low, especially below 10 g/dl, the reduced cabin oxygen during a flight could lead to dizziness or fainting. For safety, anyone with an Hb concentration under 8.5 g/dl is not permitted to fly.

• Individuals needing medical equipment that airlines don’t permit can’t be accommodated on board.
  
• Contagious infections like chickenpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough, or shingles should be cleared before travel to avoid spreading illness.
  
• Patients with weakened immunity and severe complications should not fly without clearance.
  
• Unstable diabetes is a no-go for flying. Well-controlled diabetics should order special meals in advance, carry all medicines and supplies in their hand luggage, and adjust to time zones gradually.
  
• If you have had recent surgery or an injury, you face a risk at altitude because trapped body gases can expand significantly.
  
• Before a long flight, the cast covering a fracture must be split to prevent potential swelling and related circulation problems.
  
• Severe burns or large infected wounds must be treated before you travel, as they could rapidly worsen.
  
• Those in a terminal illness stage, where health could deteriorate mid-trip, should avoid flying.
  
• For travel, if you use a urinary catheter, please verify these three things: a recent change; that it’s filled with water, not air; and that there are no signs of infection.

• Thai Airways Special Assistance for Nut Allergy:

While the volume of passengers makes it impossible for Thai Airways to promise a completely nut-free environment in their lounges or cabins, they take your medical needs seriously. 

Therefore, please inform the Thai Airways special assistance team of your condition as early as possible so they can strive to ensure that every touch point is aware of your requirements. They also highly recommend you to keep your medication and/or medical ID bracelet with you at all times and notify a Thai Airways staff member immediately should an allergic reaction occur.

• Thai Airways Special Assistance for Pregnant Women:

If your pregnancy is non-complicated, you can usually fly, but Thai Airways special assistance program has rules to minimize the risk of premature labor. Be aware that frequent flying in your first trimester is discouraged due to potential risks related to low oxygen levels (hypoxia).

Also Read: Thai Airways Special Assistance

Before You Book Your Flight:

• If you are 28 weeks pregnant or further along: 

You must obtain a medical certificate. This certificate needs to confirm your estimated delivery date and state that you have a normal, complication-free pregnancy.

• Check the Maximum Flying Week for Single Pregnancies:

For flights less than 4 hours, you can fly up to the end of the 36th week.

For flights more than 4 hours, you can fly up to the end of the 34th week.

• If your pregnancy is complicated or a multiple birth (e.g., twins, history of early delivery): 

You must have explicit medical clearance from the airline company before booking any long-distance flight, as it is generally discouraged.

• Do not fly after 36 Weeks: 

If you are 36 weeks pregnant or more, you cannot fly.

• Thai Airways’ Special Condition for Infants:

The cabin atmosphere poses a risk to newborns who are less than 7 days old. That’s why premature infants require a MEDIF (Medical Information Form) for air travel.

Conclusion

Flying with a health condition can be difficult, but Thai Airways special assistance team helps you to make your journey comfortable and secure. Their dedicated team provides unmatched support for a wide range of needs, including DVT prevention, post-surgery recovery, expectant mothers, and managing chronic issues or allergies. Moreover, they strongly urge passengers to notify them ahead of time about any specific medical requirements. This way, Thai Airways put the proper safeguards in place for a smooth, safe, and health-prioritized flight.

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