Covac Global modifies its COVID-19 evacuation membership policy in response to the increasing demand for repatriation.

In December, I discussed Covac Global, a COVID-19 travel insurance program aimed at ensuring you can return home if you test positive, all without the need for quarantine abroad.

Since then, the membership-based evacuation and repatriation service, established in 2020 to facilitate medical evacuations during the pandemic without requiring hospitalization, has faced challenges in meeting the demand for evacuations during the omicron surge, which significantly affected the holiday travel season.

"In commercial aviation, we saw over 8,000 flights canceled due to weather and crews contracting COVID. Our air ambulances encountered similar issues during the holiday season," Covac Global CEO Ross Thompson shared with me via email. "Many of our aircrews were affected by COVID, forcing us to quickly find replacements to assist our members. Weather disruptions in other regions also led to delays."

During this challenging period, Covac Global carried out over 52 evacuations using private air ambulances within just 12 days. These evacuations included members with a wide range of conditions, from those showing minimal symptoms to those who "required critical medical intervention."

Thompson acknowledged that some members faced "mild delays" ranging from one to three days, which he partially attributed to a "limited number of air ambulances."

There have been reports of alleged difficulties encountered by some clients who utilized Covac Global, though no one was willing to speak on the record.

Some users have voiced their complaints online, particularly on Reddit and in the thread below on FlyerTalk, a well-known online forum.

Thompson attributed the reported issues to the "numerous attempts to misuse the system." He mentioned one instance where the company informed a member about a delay in their return home during the holidays, to which the member replied that it was unacceptable since they would miss a New Year's Eve party, ultimately choosing to cancel the evacuation when their symptoms unexpectedly improved.

He also stated that an "unfortunate number" of members had "falsely" reported having "observable symptoms" in hopes of avoiding a few inconvenient days at their selected hotel.

While Thompson refrained from addressing specific accusations, he noted that some delays in service or other constraints were a result of "the restrictions imposed by certain host countries" and the ever-changing nature of COVID-19 regulations that vary by country.

"Countries like Italy mandate that we implement isolation measures when exiting their airspace. These requirements are legally enforced, and Covac Global must adhere to them," he explained. "Variants evolve quickly, as do local laws and COVID-19 regulations. We do not circumvent these laws for any member, regardless of their level of inconvenience. Every member is safely transported home accompanied by highly trained and compassionate medical professionals."

Covac has recently revised the terms and conditions of its Global COVID-19 Evacuation and Repatriation service.

Now, all members must meet two criteria to activate the COVID-19 evacuation service and avoid hospitalization.

The first new criterion is providing proof of a positive PCR test. Previously, it was sufficient to report just one self-identified symptom.

Moreover, both a "local attending qualified medical professional" and the Covac medical director must approve the evacuation decision based on the principle of "medical prudence," as specified in the 2022 COVID-19 Evacuation Membership Services Agreement. Below is a copy of the agreement that Covac distributed to members prior to these updates.

"Medically Prudent to Avoid Hospitalization — This determination is made by the local attending qualified medical professional and the COVAC Global medical director, indicating that the member cannot safely remain in quarantine due to current or potential conditions that may necessitate medical intervention or local hospitalization," states the agreement shared with TPG by a Covac member.

While these are the two most notable changes, all Covac members must now either purchase their membership at least 14 days before departure or present a negative PCR test result taken within seven days of their departure.

In addition, Covac has ceased to offer COVID-19 evacuation services in 22 countries, including Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Maldives, and South Africa. A full list is available below and online.

To clarify, Covac Global operates as a membership program that is presented as insurance but is not subject to the same regulations as travel insurance.