A fit-to-fly certificate is a signed statement from a licensed doctor (or midwife, in pregnancy) that you are well enough to take a given flight; airlines accept one from any licensed doctor. On Mobi Doctor you see an EU-licensed doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes, daily 7am–11pm CET: €57 + €10 for the certificate, issued where clinically appropriate.
Yes, a certificate obtained online is accepted, provided a licensed doctor or midwife signs it and the date falls inside the airline's window. None of the 30 policies we read specifies where the consultation must happen; airlines check the name, the flight dates, the wording they asked for and the doctor's registration number. On Mobi Doctor an EU-licensed doctor assesses you over video and, if the doctor confirms you are fit to fly, emails the signed certificate afterwards.
"Certificate" and "letter" mean the same thing in practice: a signed statement of fitness on headed paper. Ten airlines publish their own template (British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, Finnair, Brussels Airlines, Condor, airBaltic and Qatar Airways), each with a medical section for the doctor to sign; Condor accepts nothing but its MEDIF A.
A MEDIF (Medical Information Form) is different: it goes to the airline's medical advisers, who, in the CAA's words, "clear" passengers as fit to fly. It is for conditions the airline must assess before carriage, including a complicated pregnancy at Finnair, Emirates, Qatar Airways, TAP or LOT, and it needs lead time: 72 hours at LOT, 48 hours at TAP and Emirates, 48 hours to 7 days at Qatar Airways.
Pregnancy is the usual reason. Twelve airlines require a letter from week 28 (British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, Wizz Air, Vueling, Iberia, Aer Lingus, TAP, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, airBaltic, Turkish Airlines), another four from week 29 (TUI, Condor, Emirates and Qatar Airways), and Finnair (flights over 6 hours) and LOT from week 32. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian and Eurowings only recommend one; easyJet, KLM, Air France, Transavia, AEGEAN and Pegasus ask for nothing in an uncomplicated pregnancy (see the flying while pregnant guide).
Other triggers are a recent operation, a fresh plaster cast, a contagious illness, or an airline or tour operator request. The CAA's advice is no air travel for 10 days after abdominal surgery and roughly 24 hours after laparoscopy; timings by procedure are on flying after surgery, and the fit-to-fly checker covers every other situation.
Yes. Every airline that asks for a document asks only for a licensed doctor's or midwife's signature: not a particular country's doctor, not a face-to-face examination, never a UK GP. Five explicitly accept a midwife (British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, TUI, Emirates); most of the rest say "doctor", and Lufthansa's form is addressed to your gynaecologist.
Turkish Airlines wants the note in Turkish or English with the doctor's licence number; airBaltic wants English, as does Norwegian on international flights; Vueling wants the original authorisation to state its validity dates and the doctor's medical board number. Where a form exists, use it: Jet2 also accepts a headed-paper letter and British Airways a stamped official letter; Condor does not.
A certificate issued through Mobi Doctor carries:
Video consultation €57 + €10 for the certificate, issued where clinically appropriate; if not, you are told why and what to do instead.
There is no universal validity; each airline sets its own window, counted back from the departure date, and it is the rule travellers most often miss. Wizz Air's is the tightest at 6 days. Jet2 wants the signature within 7 days of departure and within 16 days of the return, which on a fortnight's holiday leaves only a few days for the consultation. Book inside the shortest window on your itinerary, and count the return leg, which may need a certificate of its own.
| Airline | Certificate issued within |
|---|---|
| Wizz Air (cut-off week 34) | 6 days |
| Jet2, Croatia Airlines, Pegasus | 7 days |
| Condor (MEDIF A only), Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways | 10 days |
| Ryanair (its own form: within 2 weeks of departure), TUI, airBaltic, LOT (10 days for US flights) | 14 days |
| SAS (MEDIF) | 30 days |
| British Airways, Finnair | No fixed number: "as close to travel as possible" |
The decision is the doctor's, and there are four common reasons for a no: the airline's cut-off has passed (Turkish Airlines refuses from week 36 even with a certificate); pregnancy complications such as bleeding or high blood pressure; an operation still inside the CAA's recovery window; or an infection that remains contagious, which the CAA says must resolve before you fly.
The appointment is worth having anyway: you leave knowing when travel would be reasonable, with treatment where appropriate and, if you must cancel or cut the trip short, a not-fit-to-fly letter for your insurer built on the same assessment.
Video consultation €57 + €10 for the certificate. The €57 is a full consultation, so advice or a prescription for anything else is included where appropriate. UK letter-only services charge around £49; a GP appointment with a letter, £75–85.
You see a doctor over video usually within 15 minutes, daily 7am–11pm CET, wherever you are in the EU. If the doctor confirms you are fit to fly, the signed certificate is emailed to you after the consultation.
easyJet asks for none in an uncomplicated pregnancy and carries you to the end of week 35. Ryanair requires its own form from week 28, shown to cabin crew at boarding. Jet2 accepts its certificate or a headed-paper letter for weeks 28–35, signed within 7 days of departure.
TUI requires a certificate from week 29 to the end of week 36 (32 for multiples), issued within 14 days of departure. British Airways accepts its Pregnancy Form or an official letter stamped by a doctor or midwife from week 28, dated as close to travel as possible.
Rarely: 17 airlines stop at the end of week 36, nine at week 35, Wizz Air at week 34, and a certificate does not override the limit. Exceptions are Finnair (flights of 2 hours or less to the end of week 38), LOT (no published maximum) and SAS and Norwegian (due-date rules).
Yes, once the CAA's recovery window has passed: 10 days after abdominal surgery, about 24 hours after laparoscopy, 7 days after neurosurgery. A cast less than 24 hours old (48 hours on flights over 2 hours) may need splitting (bivalving).
Yes. The consultation is over video, so it works from a hotel room wherever you are in the EU, at the same price. That matters for return flights, whose validity windows count from each departure.
Only if the return date sits inside the airline's week limit and validity window. British Airways says one letter covers both legs; Jet2 requires it signed within 16 days of the return; Wizz Air's 6-day window can mean a second certificate. Ask the doctor to name both dates.
General information, not medical advice — always confirm with your airline before you travel.
