It hadn't occurred to me that PAN is not internationally recognised, and that some countries might think you are asking for bread!!
Surely to have an international aviation standard call for a medical emergency would obviate unnecessary chat on air like:
ATC: ABC123 descend FL260
ABC123: descending FL260 ABC123..oh..by the way...we are declaring a medical emergency
ATC: are you declaring an emergency?
ABC123: a passenger is having difficulty breathing but hanging in there so we would like to get on the ground quickly ABC123
ATC: so are you declaring an emergency, that is how you can come in ahead of everyone else
ABC123: oh in that case..yes..let's make it an official emergency ABC123
ATC: do you wish us to arrange for an ambulance ........
Instead it could have been:
ATC: ABC123 descend FL260
ABC123: descending FL260 declaring PAN MEDICO (
or other phrase - any suggestions for this? )ABC123
ATC: ABC123 PAN MEDICO acknowledged, an ambulance will be arranged
Given that folks agree that the majority of PAN calls these days are for medical problems,
Dr Syn quite rightly highlighted the age and potential infirmity of many travelling, how can the radio/calls be updated in line with reality?
