CASE STUDY: EMERGENCY AVIATION

INCIDENT: American family with a positive COVID-19 traveler faced difficulties returning home due to international border closures amid COVID-19 pandemic

LOCATION: Undisclosed 

SERVICE: Emergency Aviation/Emergency Maritime Services/Emergency Response

SITUATION:

As governments take far-reaching measures to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, borders are closing, major commercial carriers are cancelling flights, and local regulations and pre-trip testing requirements are expanding; all leading to travelers being stranded around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused preventative measures such as international flight and port closures to be put into place by local governments in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. Due to these restrictions in place, an American family with a positive COVID-19 traveler faced difficulties returning home. Facing multiple international border crossings in order to make their way home to the United States, there was not much optimism that they could get home any time soon.

RESPONSE:

Upon being contacted with a request to transport the family from the island they were stranded on, Global Guardian started working to find an efficient solution. In addition to the government restrictions, one of the family members had contracted COVID-19 while abroad, making it paramount that Global Guardian come through and transport the family back home to their care team in the United States safely and quickly. 

The Global Guardian team immediately began working with their vetted aviation partners and local ground assets to construct a plan to transport the family back home. Global Guardian had to maneuver multiple current COVID-19 related restrictions during the process which made this transport all the more complicated. It made Global Guardian think unconventionally in order to move the family to safety.

In order to move the family, they could not be flown out from the current island they were stranded on. They had to depart from the larger adjacent island due to the international airport’s longer runway and lesser COVID-19 restrictions. Global Guardian was able to organize a maritime vessel to transport the family from the origin island to the island they were set to depart from.

Throughout the course of the transport, the Global Guardian Operations team maintained constant communications with relevant family members and ground teams to ensure all parties were kept updated and supported throughout the mission. The most important takeaway was the final result, flawless execution over the course of evacuation planning and transport. Thanks to Global Guardian’s well-placed network of international ground assets, service partners and our 24/7 Operations Center, situations like these can be responded to in real-time, providing a solution in any climate or time crunch.

Do you require COVID-19 Evacuation Services? Our team has partnerships with specialized aircraft equipped to transport COVID-19 positive patients safely home. Contact us to learn more about our COVID-19 evacuation capabilities and how we can be of assistance. You can reach the Global Guardian Operations Team 24/7 by phone at +1 (703) 566-9463 or by clicking below. Global Guardian is standing by to support.