Arrival and airport transfer: the first hours
Who meets you, which airport your plan names and why, and what actually happens on the first day.
The first hours after a long flight with a patient who tires easily set the tone for the whole stay. Most of what makes them go well is arranged before departure.
The stay itself runs in five stages: you are met at the airport, transferred to the centre by private vehicle or ambulance, assessed by a physician who writes your programme, treated by your physiotherapists with the technology the plan names, and your return home is organised before you leave.
On arrival
You are met inside the terminal at İstanbul or Samsun airport — or at the airport your plan names for another centre — by a member of the international team, assisted through passport control and baggage, and driven directly to the centre. Wheelchair-accessible vehicles and ambulance transport are arranged where the condition requires it.
Tell us in advance about mobility and equipment — a wheelchair that does not fold, oxygen, a feeding pump — because the vehicle is chosen for the patient rather than assumed.
Choosing which airport
Each centre has a different nearest airport, and the recommended one is stated in your plan rather than assumed. Arriving at the wrong airport can add several hours by road, which is the difference between a manageable first day and an exhausting one.
If you are booking flights yourself, send the itinerary before you pay for it. A short check costs nothing and prevents the most common avoidable problem of the whole journey.
What the first day looks like
Admission paperwork, a medical assessment, and rest. Therapy generally starts the following morning, because an assessment done by an exhausted patient describes exhaustion rather than ability.
Bring the medication and the imaging in hand luggage, not in a checked bag. If the bag is delayed, the assessment still happens.
Topic
More in Travel and logistics
- Visas and entry requirements: what we can and cannot doRequirements depend on your nationality. We issue the documentation applications usually lack — we do not submit them and cannot influence the outcome.
- The invitation letter: what it contains and what it provesPatient details, diagnosis, dates, the treating facility and its authorisation number — issued in English once the plan is confirmed.
