The challenges and complexities of a winter air transfer
- rebeccawilson945
- Dec 5, 2025
- 2 min read
Charlotte, our Chief Operating Officer, supports families and works hand-in-hand with our medical teams to untangle the complexities of bringing children home from overseas. She reflects on what makes December transfers especially challenging and why it's so important that children are home for Christmas.
As December begins, I’m thinking about the families facing a very different kind of Christmas. For many of them, home feels out of reach, and the journey back is far more complicated than most people realise.
I keep thinking of Aras, a baby we brought home last December. He was born prematurely while his family were in Turkey. When our Lia’s Wings medic arrived the day before his transfer, the entire resort had closed for the season — no staff, no lights, nowhere to prepare for his transfer. At 2am, in the cold and dark, we hurried to find her safe accommodation. She was the only guest in the hotel we eventually secured. Then a storm hit, flights were grounded, and we even considered she might have to spend Christmas in Turkey with Aras and his family.
"Home feels out of reach, and the journey back is far more complicated than most people realise."
Christmas was only days away. In the small hours of the morning, I started planning for what that might mean. But somehow, Plan A held.
Exhausted, we boarded the flight with baby Aras, his mum and his 8-year-old brother, Alfie, all desperate to get home. We landed on 23rd December, reunited with their family just in time for Christmas.
These are the realities of winter transfers: unpredictable conditions, limited services, and families waiting anxiously for news. Poor weather, closed facilities and reduced NHS staffing make December especially challenging. Yet the need for our support never pauses.
"These are the realities of winter transfers: unpredictable conditions, limited services, and families waiting anxiously for news."
That stays with me most are the conversations with parents:
Those juggling life at home while one child is far away.
Those comforting siblings who don’t understand why Christmas might look different this year.
Those quietly saying, “We just want to be together.”
At Christmas, that hope becomes more urgent.
Families want stability. They want to know they won’t be spending this time of year thousands of miles apart. Our role is to make that possible, and to do it safely, even in the toughest conditions.
That’s why our Big Give Christmas Campaign this week is so important. Every donation is doubled and goes twice as far in helping us bring children home this month. Your support ensures we can say “yes” when a family calls, even when circumstances are at their hardest.
If you’re able to support the campaign before it closes, your gift will have a direct, immediate impact on the children we’re working to bring home before Christmas.
Thank you for caring about this work and for holding these families in your thoughts when being together matters most.
"Your support ensures we can say “yes” when a family calls, even when circumstances are at their hardest."