Will I be covered for emergency helicopter evacuation on Kilimanjaro? | Fair Voyage

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Will I be covered for emergency helicopter evacuation on Kilimanjaro?

There is a local helicopter evacuation service in Moshi called Kilimanjaro SAR. While SAR is a private company, they assist all climbers in need. Responsible operators will have a partnership with SAR so that they can quickly arrange emergency evacuations if required. However, whether your guide can do so depends on the mobile signal at your specific location. To ensure constant & immediate connectivity, the best operators also bring radio or satellite phones onto their climbs.

While SAR will assist you when required, note that you are still responsible for the costs of your evacuation, which can easily be US$5,000 or more. To make sure that you do not need to pay these costs, it is important that your insurance covers emergency evacuations and high altitude trekking up to 6,000 meters. Even if covered, note some insurance companies may still require you to pay these costs out of pocket before getting reimbursement, so also check the payment mechanism with your insurance company.