Open abdominal surgery (hernia repair, the big kind, not keyhole) sixteen days ago. Surgeon has signed me off to fly, I have the fit to fly letter, all good. Airline told me on the phone they wanted a MEDIF because it was recent surgery, so I got the doctor's section done, sent it all off to the medical desk on Sunday night, and have heard NOTHING. Automated acknowledgement and then silence.
It is now Tuesday night and I fly Thursday afternoon. The 48 hours everyone quotes is basically up. I have rung twice today and got a queue and then a voicemail.
So, real question from someone starting to panic a bit. If it does not come back in time, can I just turn up with the surgeon's letter and hope? Is the MEDIF actually a requirement or is it an airline being cautious? And has anyone been refused at the desk over this? I have a non refundable hotel at the other end and I am not sure whether to be sorting a plan B or just trusting the process.
Ring them again the moment they open and ask for the reference number to be read back to you, then ask them to escalate because the flight is inside 48 hours. Voicemail is where forms go to die. And check the spam folder, I found mine in there a day late.
Lena, the short version: the MEDIF is the airline's decision about whether it will carry you, and if the airline has asked for one, then turning up with only the surgeon's letter is a gamble I would not take, because the check in agent is looking for a clearance on their system, not reading your letter. Two different documents doing two different jobs. Your letter says you are fit; the MEDIF is how the airline says yes.
What actually happens if it is not back is one of three things, and all three are better handled today than at the desk. Most often it is simply sitting in a queue and a phone call gets it moved. Sometimes the desk has come back with a question to the doctor and nobody has told you, which is worth asking about specifically. Occasionally the answer is that they want you to travel later or with a condition attached, an aisle seat, stockings, that sort of thing, and you want to hear that with a day in hand rather than at the gate. Keith is right about the reference number and the spam folder. I would also email the medical desk with the reference in the subject line and the flight number and date in the first sentence, because a written trail that says "submitted Sunday, flight Thursday" tends to get answered.
For what it is worth, the 48 hours is the review time for the form itself, and it is the reason I now start the whole thing about two weeks out. The first time I flew after an operation I did none of this and just got on the plane, and the second time I had the letter and the clearance before I had even packed. The sequence, and what a good letter needs to say, is in medical clearance to fly after surgery if you want it in front of you while you are on hold. Sixteen days after open abdominal surgery is comfortably past the usual guide of about 10 days, so you are not asking the airline for anything unusual; you just need the paperwork to catch up with you.
Been exactly here. Submitted Friday, flew Tuesday, the clearance arrived at 18:40 the night before and only because I rang and was politely unbearable. The agent at check in looked at her screen, said "you are cleared, that is fine", and never asked to see my letter at all. Which tells you which piece of paper actually matters to them.
One thing to have ready for the call: your booking reference, the flight number, the date you submitted the form, and the surgeon's phone number. They asked me for all four.
Got through at 8:05, asked for the reference number to be read back, mentioned the flight was tomorrow and they put me through to someone who actually had the form on her screen. It had been waiting on a question about whether I needed an aisle seat, which nobody had emailed me. Answered it on the phone and the clearance email landed twenty minutes ago, with an aisle seat noted.
So the answer to my own question is that it was not stuck, it was waiting for me, and I would never have known. Thank you all, genuinely. Marisa, "politely unbearable" is going on my list of life skills.
This thread has been quiet for sixty days, so it is now closed to new replies. Whether you personally are fit to fly, and when, is a question for the surgeon who operated on you and knows your recovery, not something a forum can settle. Please start a new thread if you want current input.
