Singapore to Australia, 24/7
Air Ambulance Singapore to Melbourne
Bed-to-bed transfers with a medical team on board and ground ambulances at both ends. About 7.5 hours nonstop by long-range jet, or around 9 hours via Darwin.
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- Distance
- About 6,030 km
- Flight time
- About 7.5 hours nonstop, or about 9 hours via Darwin
- Typical aircraft
- Gulfstream G550 nonstop, or Hawker 800 via Darwin
- Fuel stop?
- Not in a G550. A Hawker 800 refuels in Darwin.
Singapore Changi (SIN) or Seletar (XSP) to Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL). Times are planning estimates and change with winds, aircraft and the patient's needs.
What is involved in getting a patient from Singapore to Melbourne?
Singapore has some of the best hospitals in the region. When we bring a patient from Singapore to Melbourne, it is almost never because of the care. It is because of cost, family, or the need for a long recovery at home.
Singapore is also a major transit hub, so some of our patients never meant to stop there. They became unwell on a flight between Europe and Australia and were taken to hospital from Changi.
How long is the flight, and does it need a fuel stop?
A Gulfstream G550 flies Singapore to Melbourne nonstop in about seven and a half hours.
A Hawker 800 lands in Darwin after about four and a half hours to refuel and clear the Australian border, then flies about four hours to Melbourne. Including the stop, the trip is about nine hours, which can suit a stable stretcher patient on a tighter budget.
Melbourne is two hours ahead of Singapore in Australian standard time and three hours ahead in daylight saving.
Why do Australians need to come home from Singapore?
Travellers taken ill in transit
Passengers who have a stroke, heart attack, clot or other emergency on a flight and are taken to hospital in Singapore.
Long hospital stays and high costs
Private care in Singapore is expensive. Insurers and families often move a patient home once they are stable.
Australians living in Singapore
Expatriate families who want a serious illness treated in Melbourne, closer to family support.
Complex cases after initial treatment
Patients who have had surgery or intensive care in Singapore and now need rehabilitation or longer-term care.
Can you arrange the ambulance and hospital at both ends?
Yes. The transfer is planned bed to bed, so the family doesn't have to organise anything at either end.
In Singapore
Patients may be at a public hospital such as Singapore General or Changi General, or at a private hospital such as Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles or Raffles Hospital. Their international patient teams are used to preparing reports for repatriation.
A road ambulance takes the patient to the aircraft at Changi or Seletar, the business aviation airport. Singapore's short distances mean the ground leg is rarely the problem.
In Melbourne
We arrange acceptance at a Melbourne hospital that suits the patient, such as The Alfred, Royal Melbourne, Austin, Monash Medical Centre or a private hospital, or a regional Victorian hospital near home.
A road ambulance meets the aircraft at Tullamarine for the drive to hospital, and the flight nurse or doctor hands over in person on the ward.
Does the patient need an air ambulance?
There are several nonstop scheduled flights a day between Singapore and Melbourne, taking about seven and a half hours. A stable patient may fly with a nurse escort, or on an airline stretcher where the airline offers one, subject to its medical clearance.
What documents are needed from Singapore to Melbourne?
For Singapore to Melbourne we need the passport, a discharge summary and medical report in English, imaging, and the insurance claim number. Singapore hospitals produce these quickly, so paperwork is rarely what slows this route down.
Singapore hospitals usually ask for the bill to be settled or guaranteed before discharge, and bills can be large. If you are relying on travel insurance, ask the insurer's assistance team to send the hospital a guarantee of payment as early as possible. Patients who were moved to Singapore from elsewhere in Asia should also bring the records from the first hospital.
FAQ