This year MedAire celebrates 30 years of providing medical services to the aviation industry, having in the interim expanded greatly to incorporate maritime services, and to widen its offerings to provide a spectrum of related medical, travel and safety services.

MedAire (Booth Y109) was the brainchild of Flight Nurse Joan Sullivan Garrett. In 1983 she was the chief medical officer for an emergency helicopter evacuation flight responding to a traffic accident in Arizona. Experience from this and other incidents brought the realization that many more lives could be saved through greater medical training and expertise, and through the provision of better on-board medical kits. In 1985 Garrett created MedAire to bring that into reality.

Though International SOS acquired MedAire in 2008, it remains committed to the core life-saving values that Garrett instilled in the young company 30 years ago. Today the company supplies a range of medical kits, and medical training for flight crews. It provides on-the-ground medical and security assistance, and also rapid access to round-the-clock expert advice. It established the first global emergency response center for the aviation industry. Security has been an important aspect of the company’s work, and it has recently launched a new e-learning travel safety course for executives and flight crews as part of its travel risk management offerings.