Learn More About Travel Policies and What It Takes to Start the Flight Booking Process for Your Brigade
Coordinating travel is a key responsibility of your job as a Chapter Leader. Here are the basic tips to navigate this process:- Start the flight booking process early. Medical Brigades much follow a Sunday-Saturday itinerary.
- Define the type of booking that you and your volunteers will be doing, whether that is group, deviation, or independent bookings:
- Group Bookings: Group reservations require a minimum of 10 passengers traveling on identical itineraries. That means the same departure, return dates, and travel dates.
- Global Brigades Individual Bookings/Deviations: Groups below 10 passengers must be booked through deviation reservations. Any passengers flying from different airports or on different dates than the group will also need to be booked as deviations.
- Book Independently: Volunteers who prefer to book flights on their own must submit their itineraries to their Travel Team Member for approval before purchasing a ticket. (If you are from a UK group, you will need to book your flights independently.)
- Ensure arrivals to partner countries at the following airports:
- Honduras: Comayagua (XPL) or San Pedro Sula (SAP) to be determined by the in-country team
- Guatemala: Guatemala City (GUA)
- Belize: Belize City (BZE)
- Ghana: Accra (ACC)
- Panama: Panama City (PTY)
- Greece: Athens (ATH)
- Ensure volunteers arrive and depart within the following windows of time:
- Honduras: Arrive between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and depart between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for XPL. Arrive and depart between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for SAP.
- Guatemala: Arrive and depart between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to/from GUA.
- Belize: Arrive between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and depart between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to/from BZE.
- Ghana: Arrive before 1 p.m. and depart after 3 p.m. to/from ACC. Any groups arriving after 1 p.m. will stay overnight in a hotel in Accra upon arrival.
- Panama: Arrive between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and depart between noon and 10 p.m. to/from PTY. Flights may be accommodated outside of that time frame with an overnight stay in local hotels to avoid night travel.
- Greece: Arrive between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and depart between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. to/from ATH. Flights may be accommodated outside of that time frame with an overnight stay at the airport hotel to avoid night travel.
- Follow-up for support from a Travel Team Member or your Program Associate as needed. Keep both CC’d on all emails.
- Make note of all deadlines for reservation confirmation, utilization, final names, and fundraising as dictated by airline policies.
- Make sure all participants confirm the passport, visa, and vaccine requirements needed to travel. See more information here.
- Ensure any additional permits as needed. If one of your volunteers is under 18 and your Brigade is traveling to Honduras or Belize, they might need extra permits. If that applies to a volunteer in your group, reach out to your Program Associate immediately.
Volunteers seeking to travel personally before or after their Brigade must obtain prior approval from a Travel Team Member. If personal travel is approved, the volunteer must sign an Alternative Travel Waiver and book their flights independently with an approved itinerary. Fundraising cannot be done for flights that include personal travel.
Volunteers traveling before a Brigade must meet the group at the airport at least one hour prior to the group flight arrival time. To obtain prior approval, volunteers must provide the following for pre-Brigade personal travel:- Proposed dates/location of travel
- Flight information (itinerary and flight number)
- Address(es) for accommodations if in the program country
- Phone number they can be reached at before the Brigade
- Signed Alternative Travel Waiver (if approved)
If personal travel occurs after a Brigade, the volunteer will be dropped off at the airport with the rest of the group but will follow their own itinerary from there. To obtain prior approval, volunteers must provide the following for post-Brigade personal travel:
- Signed Alternative Travel Waiver (if approved)