Medical practitioners can now access the Online Carriage of Medical Passengers application form on our website and submit their patient's details directly to our doctor when requesting approval for travel on Gulf Air services.

The site also allows for follow-up on the progress of the application until it is approved, and all cases are stored in the system for future reference, if necessary.

Before you access the medical application, there is a step-by-step guide explaining how to complete it, and medical guidelines are also available for immediate reference while completing the application.

To access the Carriage of Medical Passengers application form, please click here.

Gulf Air offers passengers with permanent or chronic incapacitation a more convenient way to travel with a Frequent Traveller's Medical Card (FREMEC), valid for five years - cutting out the need to obtain medical clearance every time you travel.

Application forms for a FREMEC card can be obtained from any Gulf Air office, or alternatively can be downloaded, and should be completed by your doctor.

Please ensure details are provided of any special service, seating arrangements, meals or assistance required.
Click here to fill in the FREMEC form.

Gulf Air will accept passengers sufferingjustify myocardial infarction, stroke or acute heart problems three weeks from the date of onset, provided a medical report is supplied by the patient's doctor who attended during the period of illness or looked after him/her, stating that he or she is medically fit to travel as a passenger.

Gulf Air will accept requests for escorts for elderly, ill, blind or mentally impaired passengers on its flights. These should be made in the usual manner through your booking office, and Reservations Control at Gulf Air will co-ordinate the provision of the escort service.

The physical condition or medical disorder of the incapacitated, handicapped or disabled passenger must be disclosed in full to Gulf Air staff.

A relative or guardian must deliver the passenger to the Gulf Air check-in counter at the departure airport, unless it is a stretcher case - in these circumstances, the guardian should bring relevant documents to the check-in counter.

At the destination airport, a relative or guardian must meet the passenger in the arrival hall or transfer point.

Requests for travel escorts should be made to Gulf Air at least one week in advance of departure.

Certain passengers require medical clearance to travel on Gulf Air. This can be obtained by filling in an Application for Carriage of Medical Passengers form from a Gulf Air office or online through this website. The form should be filled in by the passenger's doctor and then submitted to your local Reservations Manager who will forward it to the Head of Medical Services, based at the Gulf Air headquarters in Bahrain. Please bear in mind that the clearance process can take up to three days.

Hearing-impaired passengers should inform Gulf Air of their condition at the time of booking a ticket, and should also request any special assistance at this point. Medical clearance is not necessary.

Mentally impaired passengers - defined as those suffering from an illness of the mind that prevents them from taking care of themselves - can only travel when accompanied by an adult escort.

Medical clearance should be obtained before travel.

Permanently disabled wheelchair passengers who do not require individual attention during the flight, but would need help at the airport, boarding and disembarkation, can request this assistance when booking their tickets. No medical clearance is required, unless the passenger's condition calls for special care or attention.

Wheelchair passengers temporarily disabled - either due to illness or injury - will need special care during the flight, as well as assistance in the airport terminal, during boarding and disembarkation. In these cases, medical clearance must be obtained before travel but Gulf Air can provide a wheelchair if requested at the time of booking.

Any group of disabled travellers should obtain approval prior to departure from the Head of Medical Services at Gulf Air as there is a maximum number of wheelchair passengers that can be accepted on each flight/aircraft.

1. Expectant mothers, in their 28th week of normal pregnancy or less, who anticipate no delivery complications, are accepted for travel without requiring medical clearance. However, a certificate from their doctor is required to prove the duration of pregnancy.
2. Expectant mothers who are beyond 29 weeks of pregnancy and up to 34 weeks require medical clearance from their doctor. They must present a doctor's certificate, obtained not more than three days before travel, confirming, fitness to travel and stating the following:
   1. Duration of the pregnancy.
   2. Date of last menstrual period (LMP).
   3. Expected delivery date (EDD).
   4. Blood pressure: Haemoglobin:
3. Expectant mothers who are beyond 34 weeks of pregnancy and up to 39 weeks are subject to medical clearance and must be accompanied by a doctor or a qualified nurse on the flight.
4. Air travel is not permitted for women who are beyond 39 weeks of pregnancy and for mothers within the first week after delivery.

Please note: For the time being, and until further notice, Gulf Air will not accept the carriage of incubators on its services.

Diabetics may find their condition is affected by travel and they may suffer complications and, as such, should be prepared for them.

All necessary supplies should be carried by affected passengers, including insulin, syringes, needles etc, and they should either be able to inject themselves, or be accompanied by an escort who can administer any injections they may require during travel.

Special meals for diabetics can be requested at the time of booking or at least 24 hours before departure.

Stable diabetics do not require medical clearance but those with unstable conditions should obtain approval from the Gulf Air Head of Medical Services in Bahrain.

Asthma sufferers require medical clearance.

If an asthmatic passenger is likely to need oxygen during the flight, Gulf Air should be informed of the possibility at the time of reservation and/or at least three days before travel in order to arrange onboard oxygen cylinders (free of charge). The aircraft emergency oxygen cannot be used for this purpose.

Permanently blind passengers do not need medical clearance. If special assistance is required, it can be requested at the time of booking.

Groups of blind passengers do require medical clearance.

Temporarily blind passengers also need approval to travel from the Gulf Air Head of Medical Services in Bahrain, and this can be obtained via the Gulf Air Reservations Manager in the city nearest to you.

Decompression sickness can occur during travel at altitude above sea level immediately after diving - restrictions on flying apply two to 24 hours after diving if the dive was made without decompression stops, or eight to 24 hours with decompression stops.

A stretcher passenger is an ill/injured passenger who, because of their physical or mental condition, can only travel on a stretcher fitted in the aircraft. Medical clearance is required from the Gulf Air Head of Medical Services, and can be obtained through Gulf Air office in your city.

Stretchers can only be accommodated in the Economy cabin of the aircraft, and the charged fare will be five normal IATA published one-way adult fares inclusive of 100 kgs free baggage allowance.

Stretcher passengers are allowed 100 kg of free baggage allowance. A qualified medical escort is required and must be arranged for by the patient.

A qualified medical escort is required and must be arranged by the patient or their guardian.

Passengers suffering from fractures can be accepted for travel without clearance, provided they can use the toilet unaided on a journey of more than two hours.

The exemption only applies when the passenger can occupy a normal seat in the normal position, and when their plaster cast is at least 48 hours old.

1. When assessing a patient's fitness for air travel, the effects of reduced atmospheric pressure and consequent reduction in oxygen tension must be considered. Even in pressurised aircraft, the cabin pressure will be equivalent to an altitude of between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. Although each case will be considered on its merits, the following conditions are deemed unacceptable for air travel.
   
   
   
   
   1. Very severe and critical heart conditions (eg, the severely decompensated cardiac patient or the patient who has sustained a recent coronary occlusion with myocardial infarction). Such cases are not normally considered within two weeks of onset.
      
      
   2. Introduction of air to body cavities for diagnostic or the appetite purposes within seven days.
      
      
   3. Mental illness without escort and sedation.
      
      
   4. Severe cases of titis media and sinusitis.
      
      
   5. Acute contagious or communicable disease.
      
      
   6. Skin diseases that are contagious or repulsive in appearance.
      
      
   7. Fractures of the mandible with fixed wiring of the jaw.
      
      
   8. Hypertensive diseases with severe complications.
      
      
   9. Peptic ulceration with haemorrhage within three weeks of intended date of travel.
      
      
   10. Post operative cases.
       
       
       
       1. Within 10 days of simple abdominal operations
       2. Within 21 days of chest surgery
          
          
   11. Pregnancy beyond the end of 36 weeks.
       
       
2. The Gulf Air cabin staff are trained in First Aid only, and are not permitted to administer any injection.
   
   
3. Therapeutic oxygen can be provided if requested on this form.
   
   
4. Wheelchairs can be provided at most airports if a request is made at least two days before the date of travel.
   
   
5. Any fee for completion of the medical certificate, or for medical examination or report, will be the responsibility of the passenger.
   
   
6. Gulf Air staff will not accept any case they consider may jeopardise the safety or operation of the aircraft.
   
   
7. Patients having symptoms likely to cause distress or inconvenience to other passengers will not normally be accepted. The fire risk inherent in oxygen tent passengers also precludes their carriage.
   
   
8. Stretcher case passengers must always travel with a suitably competent companion.
   
   
9. In cases where, in the opinion of the Gulf Air doctor, it is in the medical passenger's best interest to travel as a stretcher passenger, his decision will be final.
   
   
10. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that the medical details given on the front of this form must be accurately typed and completed. If, at the time of embarkation, the condition of the passenger is worse than the details given, carriage may be refused.
    
    
11. The details you give are transmitted by telex. To ensure that your patient is accepted for travel, it is vital that all medical terms are legible to the non-professional.

Note: For more information, please contact the nearest Gulf Air office.