In a 1991 Federal Aviation Administration study, physician travellers were available in 85% of reported in-flight medical emergencies.20 Indeed, in 1997 one was not available when requested on Virgin Atlantic Airways flights only four times and in 1998 eight times.11 As such, it would seem likely that the airlines' reliance on doctors and the oft heard cry: ‘If there is a doctor on board the aircraft, would they please make themselves known to the cabin crew’ is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, though one can only hope that technological advances such as telemedicine will allow greater assistance from experts on the ground.