What AMREF Flying Doctors does

AMREF Flying Doctors is a Kenyan-based aero-medical evacuation and assistance services provider, established in 1957 as part of the African Medical and Research Foundation (now Amref Health Africa), and headquartered at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. The company operates a mixed fleet of dedicated air ambulance aircraft — two Pilatus PC-12 turboprops for regional and remote-area missions and Cessna Citation jets (C550, C560, and the C680 Sovereign added in 2021) for long-range evacuations — alongside a ground ambulance fleet offering Advanced Life Support transport. Onboard technology includes telemetry-enabled equipment transmitting patient vitals and ECG in real time, portable patient transport isolation chambers for infectious disease cases (Ebola, Marburg, COVID-19), handheld point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), and an Operations and Emergency Control Centre providing 24/7 telemedicine to over 100,000 Maisha members.

The product portfolio spans air ambulance services, ground ambulance, bed-to-bed medical assistance with hospital payment guarantees, the tiered Maisha membership programme (Plan, Diamond, Scholar, Tourist, Tourist Plus), commercial medical escort services via partner airlines, and American Heart Association-accredited clinical training (BLS, ACLS, First Aid) training approximately 900 clinicians per year. Revenue combines recurring Maisha subscriptions, per-mission air ambulance and ground transport fees, training fees, and managed services income from over 100 international assistance companies and insurers.

Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-consumer via the website, subscription portal, and 24/7 emergency hotline; direct enterprise sales to corporates such as NCBA Bank; and channel partnerships with insurance/assistance firms and fellow air ambulance operators for wing-to-wing transfers. Strategic partnerships with Kenya Airways (medical escort logistics) and Aga Khan University Hospital (receiving care for complex cases such as stroke) anchor the bed-to-bed service. The organisation operates as a not-for-profit subsidiary of Amref Health Africa, reinvesting surplus into public health programmes, and serves geographies spanning ~3.8 million square kilometres of Eastern Africa plus intercontinental repatriations to Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Name

AMREF Flying Doctors

Legal name

AMREF Flying Doctors

Website

https://flydoc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AMREF Flying Doctors, founded in 1957 in Nairobi, Kenya, operates Africa's leading air ambulance service. Using a fleet of Pilatus PC-12s and Cessna Citation jets, it serves insurance partners, corporates, and 100,000+ Maisha members across Eastern Africa and globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Air Ambulance and Medical Evacuation Services

NAICS

Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation (481219), Ambulance Services (621910)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Air Medical Transport (Helicopter/Fixed-Wing) (HLAFANAD)

Keywords

• Air ambulance services
• Medical evacuation
• Aeromedical transport
• Medical assistance
• Ground ambulance

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Maisha Medical Evacuation Membership Plans: Annual subscription-based membership plans (Maisha Plan, Diamond, Scholar, Tourist, Tourist Plus) providing coverage for air and ground transportation for individuals, groups, or corporates in Eastern Africa. Revenue is recurring subscription-based with tiered pricing based on coverage scope.
2. Air Ambulance Mission Fees: Per-mission fees for emergency medical evacuations, repatriations, and intercontinental transfers. Revenue is transactional, varying by distance, aircraft type, and medical requirements. Significant portion comes through insurance companies and assistance partners.
3. Training Courses: AHA-certified training programs including BLS, ACLS, First Aid, and specialized courses. Revenue is one-time per participant with scheduled courses throughout the year. Approximately 900 doctors and nurses trained annually.
4. Medical Assistance Services: Comprehensive medical assistance including guarantee of payment for hospital admissions, medical report coordination, and continuity of care services for international assistance partners and insurers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AMREF Flying Doctors provides emergency aero-medical evacuation and medical assistance services across Africa and globally, operating a fleet of dedicated Pilatus PC-12 turboprop and Cessna Citation jet air ambulance aircraft alongside a ground ambulance fleet. Its core commercial offering is bundled into the Maisha Medical Evacuation Plan membership programme (with tiers including Maisha Plan, Diamond, Scholar, Tourist Plus) and per-mission air ambulance services delivered through direct-to-consumer channels and via 100+ international insurance and assistance partners. The company also provides medical assistance coordination, commercial medical escort services, and AHA-accredited healthcare training courses.

Product overview

AMREF Flying Doctors (AFD) operates as a comprehensive air ambulance and medical assistance service provider in Africa and globally. The core offering comprises air ambulance services using a mixed fleet of aircraft (two Pilatus PC-12 turboprop aircraft for regional operations and three Cessna Citation jets including C550, C560, and C680 Sovereign for mid-to long-range evacuations) alongside ground ambulance transport. The product portfolio is anchored by the Maisha Medical Evacuation Membership programme, which includes four tiers: Maisha Plan (core annual membership), Maisha Diamond (premium regional coverage), Maisha Scholar (student-focused), and Maisha Tourist Plus (short-term visitor coverage). Supporting services include medical assistance (bed-to-bed transfers, payment guarantees, case management), commercial medical escort on airlines, and American Heart Association-certified training courses (BLS, ACLS, first aid) training approximately 900 doctors and nurses annually. The Maisha membership programme and air/ground ambulance services are tightly integrated, enabling subscribers to access emergency evacuation from remote areas across Eastern Africa and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Maisha Plan: Medical evacuation membership plan providing coverage for air and ground transportation for individuals, groups, or corporates in Eastern Africa
• Maisha Diamond
• Maisha Scholar
• Maisha Tourist
• Maisha Tourist Plus
• Jenga Mutuya

Products and services

• Air Ambulance Services Emergency aero-medical evacuation services using a mixed fleet of dedicated aircraft (Pilatus PC-12 turboprops for regional and remote missions, and Cessna Citation jets including C550, C560, and C680 Sovereign for mid- to long-range intercontinental evacuations), serving insurance partners, assistance companies, corporates, and individuals across Africa and globally.
• Ground Ambulance Emergency and non-emergency medical ground transport services with a fleet of Advanced Life Support-equipped ambulances staffed by skilled medical crews, providing patient transfer from pickup to destination as part of AFD's integrated air-ground offering.
• Medical Assistance Services Comprehensive medical assistance including bed-to-bed service, guarantee of payment for hospital admissions, medical case management, medical reporting, and coordination with international assistance partners and insurers for evacuations and repatriations.
• Maisha Plan Annual subscription membership providing coverage for air and ground medical evacuation for individuals, groups, or corporates within the Eastern African Region, with unlimited evacuations within the subscribed coverage area.
• Maisha Diamond Premium tier membership covering clients within the East Africa region including Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan with unlimited air and ground evacuation benefits.
• Maisha Scholar Medical evacuation membership tailored for students, providing affordable coverage for emergency air and ground evacuations for those spending time in remote or high-risk areas during fieldwork or study.
• Maisha Tourist Plus Short-term medical evacuation plan introduced for local and international visitors to Eastern Africa, offering comprehensive emergency medical evacuation and post-hospitalisation cover.
• Training Courses American Heart Association-accredited training programmes including Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Heartsaver First Aid CPR & AED, and Basic Trauma Life Support, delivered to internal staff and external healthcare professionals.
• Commercial Medical Escort Medical escort services accompanying patients on commercial airline flights when patients are stable enough to travel but require medical supervision, including airline medical clearance coordination, stretcher arrangements, and oxygen provisioning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,300 patients transported annually with 997 by air and 409 by road in 2021
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NCBA BankcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2022Partnership deal to provide air ambulance and ground evacuation services for NCBA customers. NCBA Bank partnered with AMREF Flying Doctors to offer medical evacuation services as part of their customer benefits package.
• Kenya AirwayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSymbiotic partnership with Kenya Airways, the national carrier, plays a pivotal role in success of commercial medical escort missions. This collaboration facilitates medical clearance of patients and ensures seamless coordination of travel arrangements. Kenya Airways partnership enables AFD to provide medical escort services on commercial flights worldwide.
• Aga Khan University HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognised Stroke Management Centre in Nairobi used for patient transfers when local hospitals lack specialist capabilities. AMREF coordinates patient admissions and receives timely medical updates through the hospital's liaison doctor for seamless continuity of care.
• International Assistance Companies (100+)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAMREF Flying Doctors serves as trusted assistance partner to more than 100 international assistance companies and insurers. These partners task AFD for medical evacuations, relying on AFD's proven record of reliability, safety, and responsiveness for their clients across Africa.
• Fellow Air Ambulance ProvidersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnerships with fellow air ambulance providers for wing-to-wing transfers when mission complexity, equipment availability, or duty hour limitations require collaborative solutions. Partner selection based on shared commitment to safety, operational integrity, and patient-centred care.
• External Risk Intelligence PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationExternal risk intelligence partners who monitor global events in real-time, supporting AMREF's multi-layered risk assessment for missions involving conflict zones. Provides current operational data and safety insights.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• International SOS: World's largest medical assistance and travel-security company, combining air ambulance medevac, ground evacuation, and telemedicine for insurers, governments, and multinationals. Direct competitor to AFD for the 100+ international assistance-company partnerships and for cross-border African evacuations, though AFD specializes more narrowly in air ambulance.

Direct peers

• European Air Ambulance (EAA): Luxembourg-based fixed-wing air ambulance operator running Learjet and Challenger fleets for intercontinental patient repatriation, serving European insurers and assistance companies. Closest functional analog to AFD's Cessna Citation Sovereign long-range mission profile and assistance-company partnership model.
• FAI Air Ambulance: Germany-headquartered fixed-wing air ambulance division of FAI Aviation Group operating Learjet 35/45 and Challenger 604 for global medevac and organ transport. Comparable on intercontinental mission capability, ISO/care-quality accreditations, and over 30 years of operating history serving insurers.
• REVA Inc. U.S.-based global air ambulance operator with a fleet of Learjet, Hawker, and Challenger aircraft flying hundreds of international medical evacuations annually for major insurers and assistance companies. Directly comparable business model — fee-per-mission, insurance channel-first — and the most likely transatlantic competitor for AFD's U.S./Europe repatriation work.
• MedjetAssist (Medjet): U.S. membership-based medical evacuation company selling individual and corporate subscriptions that cover domestic and international air-medical transport. Closest analog to AFD's Maisha membership product, particularly Maisha Tourist Plus, replicating the consumer/subscription flywheel around aero-medical coverage.
• Jet Rescue Air Ambulance: Mexico-headquartered global air ambulance provider operating Challenger and Learjet fleets for U.S./Latin America/Europe medevac. Comparable to AFD in serving a regional anchor geography (Latin America) while extending missions globally via insurance-channel partnerships.
• SkyMed (Global Rescue-style membership): North American medical evacuation membership program that bundles air ambulance, ground transport, and repatriation for individuals and corporate accounts. Closely mirrors AFD's Maisha tier structure and commercial-medical-escort offering.

Regional players

• Alpha Star Aviation: Saudi Arabia-headquartered fixed-wing air ambulance operator serving the Middle East and Africa with medevac and patient transport contracts across the Gulf. Regional comparison for AFD's Saudi/UAE/Qatar mission footprint and North-Africa corridor.
• St John Ambulance Kenya: Kenyan non-profit providing ground ambulance, first-aid training, and pre-hospital emergency response. Comparable ground-ambulance and AHA-style first-aid training business to AFD's Jenga Mutuya ground service and BLS/ACLS training arm, though limited to ground and not a direct air ambulance competitor.

Emerging players

• Medical Air Rescue & Ambulance Service (MAReS): Greece-based air ambulance and medical assistance provider covering the Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans, and Eastern Africa with ground support. Comparable emerging regional operator with insurance-channel relationships, replicating AFD's growth archetype of regional specialist scaling into global evacuations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/amrefflyingdocs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UClpAwtOkU4eCB9230pMJUHA
• Facebookfacebook.com/amrefflydoc
• Instagraminstagram.com/amref_flydoc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/13187662

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AMREF Flying Doctors