Medical Repatriation and Travel Companions in Calgary
Calgary-based Medical Escorts and Travel Companions travel with people whose health, mobility, or memory makes a journey hard to manage alone, whether they are coming home to Calgary or travelling to another province or country.
Last updated October 11, 2026
Portage provides medical repatriation and supported travel to and from Calgary, on commercial flights such as WestJet and Air Canada or by road. A Medical Escort travels with patients who need clinical care on the way. A Travel Companion travels with older adults and people with mobility or memory needs who need a caregiver, not a clinician. Your Case Coordinator plans the journey in either direction.
Portage's Alberta-based team in Calgary
Portage is based in Calgary and led by a flight paramedic with more than 20 years of repatriations in Canada and around the world. For anyone travelling to or from Calgary with support, being local matters:
Our crews are based in Calgary, with short lines of communication to the city's hospitals, care homes, and home care teams.
When it's warranted, we can sometimes assess a traveller in person before the flight, at the hospital, the care home, or at home.
Our Travel Companions are experienced caregivers, and our Medical Escorts are currently Registered Nurses and Advanced Care Paramedics.
We can often travel on the next available WestJet or Air Canada flight, and we confirm a realistic date on the first call.
Ground transport to and from YYC is arranged as part of the journey.
Bringing people home to Calgary
Some are Calgarians hospitalized in another province or country. Some are parents moving from another city to be near their children, to a Calgary care home or a family home.
A Medical Escort or Professional Travel Companion flies out from Calgary, meets the traveller and whoever is caring for them, and travels with them back to YYC and on to their door, a care residence, or a hospital such as the Foothills Medical Centre, the Peter Lougheed Centre, the Rockyview General Hospital, or the South Health Campus.
We frequently support travel between Canada and the United States, Mexico, Asia and Europe. Recent trips international trip this year include France, Germany, Morocco, Nigeria, and Japan.
Travelling from Calgary with support, including visitors flying home through Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport (YYC) is Canada's fourth-largest and fourth-busiest airport, with 19.4 million passengers in 2025 and more than 100 non-stop destinations. It is WestJet's main hub, and Air Canada, Flair, Porter, United, Delta, American, KLM, Condor, and Discover Airlines all fly from it, so most journeys from Calgary take one flight, or a single connection:
There are direct flights to every major Canadian city on WestJet and Air Canada, for a parent flying to a family wedding, a move to be closer to family, or a transfer to a care home in another province.
There are non-stop international flights to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Seoul, to Mexico's main winter destinations, and to US hubs such as Denver, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston, for travellers heading abroad and for tourists or workers hospitalized in Calgary or the Rockies going home.
Not every traveller wants to fly. For trips that can be made in a day, such as to Edmonton, a town in southern Alberta, or even to British COlumbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, e can arrange the journey by ground instead of a flight.
Medical Escort or Travel Companion from Calgary?
Travel Companion
A Professional Travel Companion is an experienced caregiver for someone who needs hands-on help with mobility, bags, airports, and personal care, including people living with dementia.
Medical Escort
A Medical Escort is for someone who needs clinical monitoring or medications given, often straight from a hospital bed.
Questions about supported travel to and from Calgary
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Yes. Most Calgary journeys start at one of the three. Once the traveller agrees, we plan the pickup around the sending hospital’s discharge or the care home's routine, and your Medical Escort or Travel Companion arrives there to begin the trip.
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Often, yes. Your Case Coordinator gets to know the traveller and their routines, plans a route with as few changes as possible, and a Travel Companion stays with them door to door. Decision-making and consent are part of our intake.
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Most often WestJet and Air Canada. For international trips we also use carriers that fly non-stop from Calgary, such as KLM, United, Etihad and Discover. We choose the route that is easiest on the traveller and arrange each airline's medical clearance or accessibility services.
Let’s plan the journey
Tell us about the traveller and the trip. We'll recommend the level of support, plan the journey, and have a Travel Companion or Medical Escort ready to go.
+1 (403) 536-9446