Request a Flight & FAQ’s

Miracle Flights provides free commercial airline tickets to pediatric patients who need life-changing medical care far from home. We also offer flights for service dog retrieval and/or training.

Miracle Flights only offers commercial flights. All flyers must be able to board and travel safely on commercial airlines in accordance with the rules and guidelines established by airlines, airports, the FAA, and the TSA.

At this time, our medical flight programming services are only available to pediatric patients 17 and under. However, our service dog program is open to all individuals who need help retrieving or training their service dog.

Miracle Flights will provide up to two round-trip flights each month for eligible patients and family members for as long as necessary. Over the years, some families have received dozens of flights from us.

You may qualify for our programming services if you satisfy all four criteria below:

• Is the child patient (17 and under) medically cleared to travel on a commercial plane safely?
• Does the child patient have a confirmed medical appointment requiring air travel? The treatment site will need to verify your medical appointment date.
• Is the requested departure date at least 14 days from today?
• Based on your household size, does your family’s gross income fall at or below our established financial thresholds (must be verifiable using IRS tax documentation)? Our financial thresholds are based on household size and are generally three times the annual Federal Poverty Guidelines listed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You can check them out HERE.

Our financial thresholds are based on household size and are generally three times the annual Federal Poverty Guidelines listed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You can check them out here.

• For example, a family with a household size of four and a total combined gross income of $75,000 may qualify for our program services, while another family with a household size of four and a total combined gross income of $100,000 will not be eligible for our program services.
• All financial information must be verified by uploading IRS tax documentation for all income earners in your household when completing your online application. Generally, this is the first two pages of your most recent Federal IRS Form 1040 and any additional income documentation (ex., SSI and/or SSDI statements, child support income, etc.). If you are SELF-EMPLOYED or OWN YOUR BUSINESS, please upload your SCHEDULE 1 and any SCHEDULE C, E, or F documents.

We do not provide one way to treatment sites. If flying to a treatment site, we ask that all applications have a return flight so that we can coordinate both the departure and return flights. If the treatment site is unsure about the release date for a patient, we ask that they project the most optimistic release date, and we’ll base the return flight date on that projected release date. If the treatment site pushes back the release date, we’ll amend the return flight date for you.

Miracle Flights only provides one-way flights from your treatment site back to your home. This is provided as long as you are receiving medical care at a treatment site outside your local community and satisfy all other relevant eligibility requirements.

Unfortunately, we are not providing any new international flights at this time.

Miracle Flights only provides flights to patients and families who need to travel for medical care far from home. We do not provide flights for elective medical procedures or compassionate care.

Miracle Flights provides free commercial air travel so families can pick up their service dogs and/or attend the required training sessions. Flights are offered to patients of all ages and up to one additional parent/legal guardian/family member, if necessary.

Miracle Flights continues to rely on the generous support of individual donors, corporate partners, airline partners, foundations, and supporters all over the country who believe that a sick kid’s chance at the best possible medical care shouldn’t be limited by the zip code where they were born. Together, we believe in and work towards equal access to the best possible medical care for families regardless of their hometown or financial situation.

All families must apply using our online application each time they request flights. Additionally, each family is responsible for making sure their treatment site submits the online Treatment Site Verification Form on their behalf to verify their medical appointment dates. Applications cannot be processed, and flights cannot be booked without these two forms submitted online at least 14 days before the requested departure date.

We process applications as quickly as we can, prioritizing departure dates. We always reach out to you via phone and email to go over flight options and details before booking. Lastly, we will email your flight itinerary so you have it for your records.

All flyers are responsible for following the rules and regulations set forth by airports, airlines, the FAA, and the TSA when traveling. They are also responsible for all baggage and add-on fees set forth by the airline they travel with. Passengers are solely responsible for checking in to all their flights.

We ask that you submit a new online flight request application for each requested medical travel journey.

We ask that all flight request applications, treatment site verification forms, and supplemental documentation be submitted at least 14 days before your requested departure date. This allows us optimal time to search for and coordinate the most accommodating flight for you at the most economical price for our organization.

We understand that a family’s financial situation can change dramatically very quickly. If you’d like to connect with one of our team members about your unique situation, please email apphelp@miracleflights.org

For a Child Medical Patient: Miracle Flights will provide flights to a qualifying child patient (age 17 and under at the time of medical appointment) and up to two adult parents/legal guardians/family members (up to three passengers total).

For the Service Dog Program, Miracle Flights will provide flights for the service dog recipient (child or adult) and one spouse/caregiver/family member (up to two passengers total) if it is medically necessary for the patient to travel with a chaperone.

We’ll provide flights to anywhere in the United States as long as your treatment site verifies your medical appointment date. In cities with multiple airports, we’ll generally provide flights to the airports that are best for you and your family as long as they are economically feasible for our organization. At this time, we do not provide flights to or from US territories.

Your departure and return dates depend on your appointment and release dates, as dictated by your treatment site. Generally, you can request a departure up to three days before your first scheduled appointment date (the date you must be at the treatment site) and a return date up to three days after your release date (the date you are medically cleared and released from the treatment site).

We coordinate our flights with our airline partners, donors, and supporters. We must balance every family’s unique circumstances, preferences, and requests with our organizational policies and mandates. We always do everything we can to accommodate each family. We can generally provide each approved family with one to two flight options. We continuously review the flight option(s) with the family before booking and email the flight itinerary when everything is booked.

We ask that you submit a new online flight request for each requested medical travel journey.

We will book your two or three tickets for you, and then you’ll be on your own to book the remaining tickets for the other traveling members of your family. Our team will work closely with you to coordinate the flight(s) and relay relevant flight details like airlines, flight numbers, and seat numbers (if applicable) to ensure a smooth transaction. We’ll even make sure the timing of the booking is coordinated with you. However, flight bookings happen quickly, so Miracle Flights can never guarantee all family members will be on the same flight and seated next to each other.

For Passenger 2 – If the patient is 17 or under, passenger two must be the traveling child patient’s parent or legal guardian as displayed on the patient’s birth certificate or other legal documentation.

For Passenger 3 – If the patient is 17 or under, passenger three may be the traveling patient’s other parent, legal guardian, or an accompanying family member.

We generally do not provide one-way flights to treatment sites. If flying to a treatment site, we ask that all applications have a return flight so that we can coordinate both the departure and return flights. If the treatment site is unsure about the release date for a patient, we ask that they project the most optimistic release date, and we’ll base the return flight date on that projected release date. If the treatment site pushes back the release date, we’ll amend the return flight date for you.

We can certainly help with that! If one family member requires a different return date, please email us at apphelp@miracleflights.org so we can coordinate that for you.

No, we will not check you in for your flights. All flyers must check-in for themselves within 24 hours of their flight date and time.

All passengers are responsible for all baggage and add-on fees set by their airline. Please visit your airline’s website for the latest details and processes.

For all flight changes and cancellations, please contact us at 800-359-1711 as soon as possible. They must be made through Miracle Flights, not the airlines, and the treatment site must verify them.

Please note that Miracle Flights is a charity that uses monetary support to purchase your flights, and we are not exempt from any airline change or cancellation fees. If you change your flight with the airline directly or don’t show up for your scheduled flights, the funds used to purchase your flight(s) will be lost and cannot be recovered. Furthermore, Miracle Flights may hold you responsible for the lost funds and/or any additional unauthorized change or cancellation of airline fees.

Each applying family is responsible for making sure their treatment site submits the online Treatment Site Verification Form on their behalf to verify their medical appointment dates. This form shall only be completed by medical treatment site staff members, not Miracle Flights applicants. The Treatment Site Verification Form and the completed Flight Request Application must be received at least 14 days before your requested departure date.

Fraudulent statements or representations shall be considered sufficient cause for denial of service. The Treatment Site Verification Form is available on our website. Applications cannot be processed, and flights cannot be booked without a submitted form.