Ukraine plans to resume medical evacuation flights by end of 2026
Ukraine plans to resume medical evacuation flights using aircraft operated by its State Emergency Service by the end of 2026, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi announced on November 6.
The government has approved procedures for organizing the flights, which are intended to transport critically ill patients between hospitals and evacuate Ukrainians abroad for specialized treatment, including through the Medevac Ukraine program.
The move could significantly reduce travel times for patients requiring urgent medical care.
Koretskyi said transporting a patient by road from Kharkiv, a major city in northeastern Ukraine, to the medical evacuation hub in Rzeszów, southeastern Poland, can currently take 15–16 hours. He estimated the journey would take two to three hours by aircraft.
The new procedures also cover the transportation of donor organs for transplantation, medical teams and essential equipment.
Ukraine's Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine, which operates under the Health Ministry, will coordinate the evacuations. The State Emergency Service will provide aircraft and crews, subject to security and weather conditions.
Ukraine's civilian airspace has been closed to regular commercial flights since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Koretskyi said the government expects the medical aviation system to become operational before the end of the year. He did not specify when the first flights would take place or how they would operate under wartime airspace restrictions.