Most families do not start by asking about aircraft types or medical equipment. They start with worries. “Will the patient be safe?” “Can I go along?” “Will the other hospital be ready?” “What if something gets delayed?” “What will it cost?”

The phone call usually comes without warning. A parent, sibling or spouse in Tripura has been taken seriously ill, the local hospital is advising treatment elsewhere, and you are hundreds or thousands of kilometres away in another city or country.