Urgent Air Evacuation: Premature baby flown from Gran Canaria to Seville
A premature baby in critical condition has been urgently evacuated from Gran Canaria to Seville aboard a specialist medical aircraft, according to the flight crew involved in the operation.
The transfer required close coordination between Spanish air traffic control and their counterparts in Morocco to secure the most direct possible route to the destination airport.
Air traffic controllers confirmed that medical evacuation flights receive absolute priority in national and international airspace due to the clinical severity of the patient. This priority status helps minimise flight time and avoids unnecessary delays during the journey.
The mission was carried out using a neonatal transport aircraft equipped with an incubator, monitoring systems and specialist medical staff to maintain the infant’s stability throughout the flight.
How medical air evacuations work
Urgent air evacuations begin with a formal request for a medical flight, usually initiated by emergency services and healthcare authorities. From that point, air traffic controllers implement a dedicated protocol that grants operational priority to the medical aircraft over all other traffic.
When the route requires crossing international airspace, as is often the case on flights between the Canary Islands and mainland Spain, direct coordination is established between all relevant control centres. In this case, controllers in Morocco authorised the aircraft to fly the shortest and most efficient route.
The procedure includes optimising flight altitudes, assigning priority corridors, and reducing potential delays for both departure and arrival, all in accordance with international safety and medical transport standards.
The coordinated work of the medical crew, emergency services, and air traffic control ensures that critical transfers of this nature are completed as rapidly and safely as possible.
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