Wales Air Ambulance is calling on people across the country to support its lifesaving work as Air Ambulance Week 2026 gets under way.
Running from 7 to 13 September, the national awareness week brings together air ambulance charities from across the UK under the message: “Every Mission Starts With You.”
Air ambulance crews are dispatched to more than 137 lifesaving missions each day across the UK, with their work powered almost entirely by public support.
In Wales, the air ambulance service provides advanced pre-hospital care around the clock and attends approximately 3,600 life-or-limb-threatening emergencies every year.
The awareness week comes during a milestone year for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity, which is marking its 25th anniversary. Since its inception in 2001, the service has attended more than 58,000 missions.
Throughout the week, the charity will share stories from people whose lives have been saved by the service while highlighting the contributions of its crews, volunteers and supporters.
Dr Sue Barnes, Wales Air Ambulance Charity Chief Executive, said: “Air Ambulance Week aims to raise awareness of the vital lifesaving work that air ambulances undertake across the UK, including here in Wales. We are the only dedicated air ambulance charity for our country.
“Every mission starts with our dedicated supporters. Our aim is, and always will be, to be there whenever and wherever we are needed. None of this would be possible without the incredible people across Wales who have taken Wales Air Ambulance to their hearts and shown unwavering passion for the Charity and its work for more than 25 years.”
“To our supporters and volunteers – thank you. You are helping save lives and improve patient outcomes every single day.”
Wales Air Ambulance operates a consultant-led service that takes hospital-standard treatment directly to patients. When required, patients can be transferred to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
The service is delivered through a partnership between the third and public sectors.
The Wales Air Ambulance Charity must raise £13 million each year through the support of communities and donors. A helicopter mission and critical care car mission cost a combined average of £3,545.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service supplies the highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work aboard the charity’s vehicles.
The advanced critical care they provide includes administering anaesthesia, delivering blood transfusions and carrying out minor operations at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, crews can travel the length and breadth of the country to provide emergency care, regardless of where they are based.
Among the patients helped by the service is Mandy Reynolds, who was injured after slipping on jagged rocks while walking on the Great Orme last year.
The mum-of-two sustained a complex triple open fracture and full dislocation of her ankle. She later underwent plastic and orthopaedic surgery and had to learn to walk again.
Mandy said: “I am extremely thankful to the Wales Air Ambulance crew, who came to my rescue when I was in urgent need. The skills of the Wales Air Ambulance team gave me a second chance and saved my foot. I will always be deeply grateful to the service and to everyone who has helped me during this life-changing event.”
Wales Air Ambulance is encouraging people to support the charity during Air Ambulance Week so it can continue reaching patients who require urgent critical care.
