Dr Mustafa Atac, explains the idea behind starting this business by telling the story of his experiences as a neurosurgeon working in many regions of his native Turkey, and in particular of working in rural parts of the county. During this time he witnessed a number of deaths just because the patients could not be taken to hospitals where their recovery might have been made easier by the provision of advanced health facilities. Such experiences made him determined to act to alleviate this problem for future generations. According to Dr Atac, there are few countries in the world that could be said to be more in need of air ambulances than Turkey, and he points to an average of 10,000 lives being lost every year during complications in childbirth in places where there are no hospitals nearby or where roads are closed with snow and ice during the harsh winters experienced, in particular, in parts of Eastern Turkey. When Dr Atac was in overall charge of the Izmir State Hospital, he had to observe lives being lost even in areas in the outskirts of Izmir, one of the most modern, developed and westernized cities in the country. All because doctors couldn’t reach patients who in turn couldn’t reach the hospital in time.

A brave initiative

After being so close to these tragic problems caused by lack of provision in the National Health Service, he decided that the time was right to start the first air ambulance service in the country. In May 1989 the Turkish Ministry of Transport and the General Directorate of Turkish Civil Aviation awarded him the first license to operate such a service in the country and with the granting of this license Marm Aviation was founded and started operating as an independent medical and technical assistance provider. The Austrian partners provided the Beechcraft KA 200 as the first dedicated air ambulance to be operated in Turkey with the call sign TC-FBZ in 1989. Dr Atac says this was a time of infancy in aero medical operations and most of the well-known operators working today did not exist at that time - in fact, there were only around five similar countries in the whole of Europe. This meant that it was a time of constant learning and education for the team behind the operations, as they learnt the importance of conducting safe missions, the various rules and regulations they would need to comply with. He also adds that the commitment to establish and maintain industry standards of excellence has been their philosophy of work since the beginning. With this in mind, he began to build knowledge by asking and learning everything he could from the most experienced and knowledgeable people in this field in order to get their help in achieving the standards that today are the company’s most valuable asset.

According to Dr Atac, despite working as the only fully licensed operator in Turkey, Marm Aviation had no incentive or support from the local and central governments. Nevertheless, they overcame the difficulties by working on the assumption that one can only ever know 5% of what is happening in such a fast moving industry like aviation at any given moment, and training, education and best practice have since been paramount in the expansion and development of their business.

Milestones towards Redst*r Aviation

One year after Marm Aviation’s establishment, a Lear 35 followed as a result of excellent aircraft developments of the first year and business began to grow steadily. By this time they were carrying patients from Egypt, Israel and the Aegean Islands to Europe and from Europe to Turkey successfully. Unfortunately, when the Gulf War started in 1990, Turkey was declared a war zone and risk insurance in the aviation sector was raised to such levels that they could no longer provide their usual services in this area. Dr Atac remembers how this steep rise in risk insurance fees caused many aviation businesses to enter into crisis in other parts of the world as well. In 1992 the earthquake in Erzincan, Turkey marked a time in which the services of air ambulances were once again in high demand. Thus in that year a new company in place of Marm Aviation was founded in Izmir: Redst*r Aviation. This meant that air ambulance services were back in operation when they were most desperately needed in the earthquake zone. 

Redst*r Aviation is now based in Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul and has an excellent working relationship with all the major airports within Turkey. All missions are coordinated by the dispatch center in Istanbul, staffed by operational and medical personnel 24 hours, 365 days per year. The multilingual, 24 / 7 alarm centre provides assistance for immediate patient transportation. The company is able to provide medical and air ambulance services whenever and wherever needed, with the reach of these services extending from Turkey to the Turkish Republics, Russia and throughout the Middle East, and also from Turkey to Europe. The company now also holds membership in many international organizations and enjoys ongoing cooperation from a great number of insurance companies throughout Europe and the world.

Extensive services

Redst*r Aviation is currently in possession of 3 Eurocopter BO-105 CBS 5 Helicopters, and 1 BAE Jetstream 32 EP Fixed-wing aircraft. All the air ambulances are outfitted as flying intensive care units and carry advanced equipment. A critical medical care team accompanies the patient in order to provide care throughout the journey. Their evacuation and repatriation services include transfer of the patient, covering all necessary medical and non-medical procedures. Evacuation and repatriation can be achieved by IC heli-ambulance or fixed wing aircraft (which can also be used in mass evacuation missions). When necessary the company has the capability for a mass repatriation plan to accommodate an emergency situation, which allows the transfer of 4 stretcher patients or up to 19 passengers at one time.

Redst*r Aviation also provides a health management programme for organizations, which includes occupational health inspection and medical advise and cost containment management. The programme assesses the medical needs of the client and recommends a total health management solution in order to establish healthy conditions and a safe environment for the organization. Redst*r Aviation also offers medical counselling via telephone, email or fax, which is provided by its multilingual staff.

Another service that the company offers is the provision of personal medical escort for patients unable to travel without assistance. They make travel arrangements on a commercial airline via their office. A member of their medical staff accompanies the patient and administers all necessary medical and logistical assistance until the final destination is reached. This service presents an alternative to air ambulance travel for less critically ill patients. 

An international reputation

The fact that the company is providing sophisticated on-site health management services and logistics assistance attracted many oil and gas operators, construction companies and governments to choose Redst*r Aviation. Some of the international projects they were involved in are the Baku – Tbilisi – Ceyhan Pipeline Project, Blue Stream Project, BP Blacksea Oil Exploration Project, Chevron Texaco Mardin Oil Exploration Project, and the Enka Power Plant with Bechtel. Since the Erzincan earthquake in 1992, the company has participated in many other relief efforts in many natural and man-made disasters such as the Dinar earthquake in 1995, the Marmara earthquake in 1999, as well as floods in Adana in 1994 and in Bartin in 1998. They also provided humanitarian assistance during conflicts in Northern Iraq, the Balkans and the Caucasus. RedstAr Aviation was given the I. Igor Sikorsky Humanitarian Aid Award for its efforts in the Marmara earthquake. Redst*r Aviation is recognised by Disaster Management.

Istanbul from the air

Alongside these crucial services specialising in health, Redst*r Aviation has recently decided to offer something a little more fun, namely Istanbul by Air, a 15-30 minute flight experience over this most beautiful and historic of cities. This helicopter ride can carry up to four passengers and takes the route chosen by the client in order to guarantee an unforgettable experience. These sightseeing flights are available every day between sunrise and sunset.

A full partnership 

In the region it operates in, Redst*r Aviation is in full cooperation with its sister companies Marmassistance and Stars Crescent Assistance. Marmassistance provides a variety of travel, health and technical assistance services to international travel and health insurance companies. It has a solid network and uses 6,000 subcontractors, amongst which there are hospitals, hotels, travel agencies, custom brokers, towing companies, garages, pharmacies and consulates. All these services are provided throughout Turkey as well as to the regions of the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia. It has over 75 staff working in its dedicated call centre, including doctors, registered nurses, social workers, customer representatives, mechanics, pilots, communication specialists and support personnel. The call centre is able to assist clients in 14 different languages, with the main language of communication being English.

The other sister company, Stars Crescent Assistance, is a fully private, “On-site Health Management Services” company entirely dedicated to the health sector, which focuses on national and international assignments. It offers assistance services throughout Turkey, the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia. It provides sophisticated “on-site health management services and logistics assistance” to both local and international companies, and has experience which stretches back over the last 22 years. Dr Atac explains that these three companies are working in full cooperation to ensure the highest quality medical services, while ensuring that adaptation and the search for ever higher standards of excellence are their main working principle.

“We would love to have competitors” 

Dr Atac highlights  Aviation’s role in encouraging new companies to work in this sector. In particular, he explains how management even turned Redst*r Aviation into a school and that, since its establishment has contributed significantly to the development of aviation medicine in Turkey and in international markets. It has trained many other trainers, supervisors and operators from around the world. Redst*r Aviation received the ISO 9001 Certificate of Quality in 2003 and complies and operates under EASA guidelines. The company continues to be the only air ambulance organization accredited with international organizations and providing services under international guidelines in Turkey. According to Dr Atac, this is because the air ambulance is still seen as a luxury and there is no government initiative or encouragement in this sector despite the country’s specific needs. The company has so far not been able to strike deals with any of the private Turkish health insurance companies nor with the Turkish State’s National Health Service, whereas its services are covered by almost every health insurance that tourists in the country may have bought back at home. He insists that the mentality of seeing air ambulances as a non-essential service has to change in Turkey. Dr Atac says that the company is trying to do everything within its power to spread awareness of the issue. In addition he notes that, “Although in general patients who have insurance, and some private patients normally qualify to use their services, we’ provide these services for free to 10% of the patients, who do not have insurance and are not able to pay for the service out of their own pockets.” 

Dr Atac continues to use every opportunity to call on all interested parties, namely the National Health Services, Turkish insurance companies and the government to fulfil their responsibilities and allow Redst*r Aviation to be able to extend its services to many more people throughout Turkey and to encourage more companies like it to enter this sector.