About Air Ambulance Week
Air Ambulance Week takes off across the UK the first week of September, with air ambulance charities across the UK delivering the message that Air Ambulance charities can’t save lives without you!
Air Ambulance Week is the only week in the year dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the vital lifesaving work of air ambulance charities and is organised by us, Air Ambulances UK, the national charity supporting the lifesaving work of the UK’s air ambulance charities, enabling them to save even more lives every day.
The event also highlights that anyone, anywhere in the UK can become a patient at any time. Air ambulance charities collectively make over 37,000 lifesaving missions each year across the UK. There are 37 air ambulance helicopters in the UK operated by 21 air ambulance charities, providing pre-hospital care support to the NHS and forming an important part of the UK’s frontline emergency services.
Air ambulance crews bring the Emergency Department to patients who have suffered a life threatening or life changing trauma or medical emergency; providing specialist critical care to save lives. The UK’s 21 air ambulance charities receive no day-to-day government funding and depend almost entirely on charitable donations to deliver their lifesaving care.
On average an air ambulance can reach someone in urgent need within 15 minutes. Air ambulance charities are collectively dispatched to over 102 lifesaving missions each day across the UK. Each lifesaving mission by air costs on average £3,962 and are funded almost entirely by donations. That’s why we can’t save lives without you and why Air Ambulances UK is calling on people all over the UK to support their local air ambulance to ensure air ambulance charities continue to save lives every day.
