Every day, our crews bring emergency critical care directly to people facing their worst moments. We need your help to keep responding.
Costs are heading skywards
When seconds matter most, we deliver specialist treatment wherever it is needed, giving patients the best possible chance of survival.
We are a charity
Unlike many emergency services, we rely on public donations to keep our service operational. Every mission, every flight and every lifesaving intervention is made possible through the generosity of supporters like you.
We’re under financial pressure
Yet the costs of fuelling and maintaining our aircraft, stocking up with lifesaving equipment and medicines and ensuring our operational crew continue to be highly trained are rising faster than our income. Without more support, keeping our helicopters in the air becomes increasingly challenging.
We need your help.
3 things you should know…
For almost 35 years, Devon Air Ambulance has evolved to meet the needs of our communities. What began as a patient transport service has become a provider of advanced pre-hospital emergency care, delivering critical treatment at the scene of life-threatening illness and injury.
Every day, week, month and year, our crew responds to time critical missions across Devon and to neighbouring counties and we want to be there for those who need us for another 35 years.
The progress we have made as a charity happened because generations of supporters, volunteers, fundraisers, staff and partners believed we could do more.
But today, we’re facing a new challenge: like many charities, we are operating in an increasingly difficult environment. The cost of delivering our service continues to rise, while economic pressures are affecting households and organisations across the region. At the same time, the need for rapid specialist care has not diminished. As a charity that is 100% supporter funded we depend upon the communities we support to keep us flying.
Every day, our crews respond to patients who need expert treatment when every second counts. We remain committed to providing the highest standard of care, wherever and whenever it is needed.
The future of emergency medicine is full of possibility. Advances in clinical care, research and technology are helping air ambulance services achieve more than ever before. But one thing will never change: when someone faces a life-threatening emergency, they deserve access to the very best care possible.
The future cannot be taken for granted. It must be built; with your help we can continue to be there.
We ask only that those who can support us give what they can to help keep our aircraft flying to those who need us most.
Your donations keep us flying to patients in need
The helicopter flies because of people like you. Lifesaving missions can only happen with your support.
- Every donation helps fund essential equipment and medical supplies.
- Donations help support lifesaving missions across our region.
- Community support protects the future of this service.
Keep us flying: because there’s no Us without You.
Your questions answered
No. Devon Air Ambulance remains operationally strong and focused on delivering its frontline service. The charity is acting now to address its financial position and improve its long-term sustainability.
Our Annual Report tells the story of our financial situation. Annual Reports are always produced retrospectively; they can only be published once the financial year has ended and the accounts have been independently audited and approved. Although this report covers 2025, the financial and operational trends it highlights remain highly relevant to the decisions we’re making today and our plans for the future.
The cost of providing specialist critical care continues to rise, while income is becoming more challenging and unpredictable. In 2025, the charity spent approximately £1.1 million more on running the service than it raised. Read more about our running costs.
The charity is carefully managing costs, improving efficiency and financial oversight, strengthening fundraising, developing new income opportunities and reviewing how its resources are organised.
Devon Air Ambulance receives no direct Government funding for its routine operations. It relies primarily on voluntary donations, fundraising, retail income, partnerships and gifts in Wills.
This community support enables us to bring advanced critical care to patients across Devon whenever it is needed. Read more about our running costs.
Reserves help protect the service against unexpected events and fluctuations in income and expenditure. However, repeatedly drawing on reserves to meet an ongoing gap between income and expenditure would not be sustainable. Read our Annual Report & Accounts.
No. Keep Us Flying is a wider fundraising and awareness campaign designed to generate additional income, strengthen supporter relationships, reach new audiences and build more sustainable support for the future.
Costs are increasing across almost every aspect of our operation, including fuel, aircraft maintenance, medical equipment, technology and people.
At the same time, the level of specialist care we provide today is far greater than when the charity was first established. Thanks to advances in medicine and clinical practice, our patients now receive highly specialised treatment at the scene of an incident, often before reaching hospital.
Support from our communities remains essential in helping us meet these growing costs while continuing to provide the highest standards of care.
The charity continues to deliver its services as normal.
Like many charities across the UK, however, we are operating in an increasingly challenging environment where costs are rising faster than income. That’s why we’re taking proactive steps now to manage those pressures responsibly and ensure the service remains sustainable long into the future.
Delivering an air ambulance service requires much more than the crews who attend to patients.
In addition to pilots, doctors and critical care paramedics, we need engineers, operations staff, fundraisers, finance professionals, retail teams, communications specialists, volunteers and support staff to keep the charity functioning safely and effectively.
Every role plays a part in helping us respond to emergencies. Our Trustees continually review our organisational structure and staffing to ensure resources are used responsibly and efficiently.
Providing a safe and effective air ambulance service requires both frontline and support functions. Strong governance, financial management, clinical leadership and operational oversight are essential to running a regulated healthcare charity.
Like all charities, we seek to ensure our resources are directed where they have the greatest impact. Our annual accounts provide full transparency about how funds are spent and are reviewed by independent auditors and Trustees.
The proposed new airbase is a long-term investment in the future of Devon Air Ambulance and would be funded separately from our day-to-day operating costs.
Our current facilities were not designed for the service we operate today. Over the years, we’ve evolved significantly, expanding our critical care capability, introducing doctors into our service and increasing the complexity of the care we provide.
The new airbase would help us operate more efficiently, support our crews and enable us to continue developing our lifesaving service for future generations.
Major capital projects and day-to-day operating costs are funded and managed separately. The purpose of a new airbase is to create a sustainable operational base that meets the needs of the service now and into the future.
Delaying investment in essential infrastructure can sometimes increase costs in the long run. Any decisions relating to the project are carefully assessed by our Trustees to ensure they are in the best interests of the charity and the people who rely on our service.