China Launches Its First Unified National Standard for Air Medical Rescue: General Requirements Take Shape

Published: September 8, 2026  |  Category: Policy

According to a CCTV report of June 17, 2026 (CCTV reporter Li Jingjing), republished by China News Service, China's State Administration for Market Regulation (the Standardization Administration of China) has issued a national standard development plan: work has officially begun on Emergency Rescue — General Requirements for Air Medical Rescue, a national standard upgraded from Beijing's local standard Specification for Air Medical Rescue Services. As reported, the planned standard will focus on four priorities — complete resources, standardized processes, effective management and continuous improvement — and will set systematic requirements on institutional qualifications, staffing, equipment and facilities, service processes and safety management, applying to medical rescue operations conducted by all types of manned aircraft. CCTV's assessment: the unified national standard will strongly advance the construction of a nationwide three-dimensional air medical rescue system and open up a fully covered, fast-responding "aerial lifeline." For the air medical transfer industry, this marks the shift from fragmented local and industry standards to one unified national rulebook — a milestone worth recording on at least three dimensions.

1. Why a Unified National Standard: Four Long-Standing Pain Points

The CCTV report is blunt about the status quo: for a long time China's air medical rescue industry has lacked unified technical specifications — operators vary widely in quality, service process requirements differ, boundaries of authority and responsibility are unclear, and equipment configuration requirements are undefined, seriously constraining the overall effectiveness of the air medical system. These four pain points are exactly what families in need feel most acutely. "Operators vary in quality" means that two services both called "air medical transfer" can differ fundamentally — one run by professional medical teams aboard medically configured aircraft, another merely a general-aviation flight with a simple stretcher. "Different processes" means the completeness of fit-to-fly assessment, in-flight monitoring and arrival handover varies greatly between providers. "Unclear responsibility boundaries" means that if a patient's condition changes mid-flight, the division between medical decision-making and flight decision-making may never have been agreed in advance. "Undefined equipment configuration" means there is no uniform requirement for carrying and securing ventilators, monitors, defibrillators or even ECMO. The point of the national standard is precisely to write the industry's minimum threshold into one ruler for the whole country. For demand-side families, the most direct benefit is lower screening costs: instead of judging each operator's reliability by experience alone, one can verify providers item by item against the standard's clauses on qualifications, staffing and equipment.

2. From Industry and Local Standards to a National Standard: The Standardization Path

This national standard does not start from zero; it is the latest link in a clear evolution. At the industry level, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the civil aviation industry standard MH/T 1065-2018 Specification for Air Medical Rescue Flight Services in 2018, along with the advisory circular Helicopter Medical Rescue Operations (AC-135-FS-015), regulating the operational requirements of air medical rescue flights. At the local level, Beijing published the local standard DB11/T 1750-2020 Specification for Air Medical Rescue Services in 2020 (Beijing Local Standard Announcement No. 10 of 2020), built on years of practice by Beijing's "999" air medical rescue program — and it is this standard now being upgraded in its entirety into the national standard. The payment-side piece of the institutional puzzle has also fallen into place: in November 2024, the National Healthcare Security Administration issued the Guidelines for the Establishment of Pricing Items for Comprehensive Examination Medical Services (Trial), listing "air medical transfer" as a standalone medical service pricing item so that charges have a formal basis (listing as a pricing item does not equal coverage by medical insurance; specific payment policies are subject to local regulations). From industry standard to local standard, from pricing item to national standard conversion, the institutional foundation of air medical transfer in China has been assembled block by block over the past eight years — and the launch of the unified national standard means the puzzle is entering its closing phase.

3. Local Actions Accelerate: Province-Wide Training in Guangdong and the Guangzhou Signings

Since the national standard was launched, local standardization moves have visibly accelerated. According to a China News Service report of July 9, 2026 (reporter Cai Minjie), the first session of the 2026 Guangdong Air Medical Rescue Training Class opened that day at Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital — Guangdong's first systematic, full-coverage professional training for air medical network hospitals province-wide, marking the entry of Guangdong's "low altitude + medical" integration into province-wide standardized construction. Guided by the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission and co-hosted by the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission and the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, the first session covered 35 hospitals across 14 prefecture-level cities; practical assessments were conducted at the flight base of the Aviation Detachment of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, with real-scenario drills on crew-medical ground coordination, cabin hands-on practice and medical rescue flight training. Graduates who pass all courses and assessments receive an air medical rescue professional training certificate valid for two years. A little over a month later, on September 4, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital went further, signing agreements with two aviation service companies to build a burns air medical rescue network opening dual domestic and international air medical rescue channels (see our September 7 article). Standardized personnel training, networked rescue systems and nationalized technical specifications — three lines advanced simultaneously in the second half of 2026, all pointing to the same thing: China's "aerial lifeline" is turning from scattered trials into a unified national system.

Disclaimer: This article is compiled from public reporting: CCTV's "China to Formulate Unified Air Medical Rescue Standards" of June 17, 2026 (CCTV reporter Li Jingjing), republished by China News Service; China News Service's "Guangdong Holds First Province-Wide Air Medical Network Hospital Training" of July 9, 2026 (reporter Cai Minjie); the National Healthcare Security Administration's Guidelines for the Establishment of Pricing Items for Comprehensive Examination Medical Services (Trial) of November 2024 and related media reports. Information on MH/T 1065-2018 Specification for Air Medical Rescue Flight Services and DB11/T 1750-2020 Specification for Air Medical Rescue Services comes from public standards information channels; all sources accessed and verified on September 8, 2026. The national standard is currently at the development-launch stage; the final text and implementation date are subject to the official release by the State Administration for Market Regulation (Standardization Administration of China). This article is industry news commentary and does not constitute medical advice; the feasibility and specifics of any air medical transfer must be assessed by qualified medical institutions.