Demand for life-saving London Air Ambulance keeps growing after record year
Demand for life-saving missions by the London Air ambulance is growing with one patient needing emergency care by the highly-skilled helicopter medical crew every four hours in the capital.
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London’s Air Ambulance Charity said it treated 2031 patients in 2025. In 2024 it responded to help 2,058 critically injured patients.
Latest figures from the Charity show that air ambulance medics performed open chest surgery 24 times in the past year, treating an average of six patients per day.
On one day in 2025 they treated 23 patients in 24 hours.
The year before was the busiest year on record for the London Air Ambulance, with call-outs to 2,058 critically injured patients.
Dr Anne Weaver, Medical Director, London’s Air Ambulance Charity, said: “These statistics reflect our experience on the ground. Our services have expanded over the years to meet demand and we release this data every year to demonstrate why our service is so needed.
"Behind every figure released today is a patient, someone whose life has been changed beyond recognition in an instant. As clinicians, it is our job to provide the best possible outcomes for them and their families."
Jonathan Jenkins, Chief Executive, London’s Air Ambulance Charity, said: “I always get a bittersweet feeling when I see our annual mission data.
"Whenever traumatic injury strikes there is a ripple effect, and you can’t help but feel moved when you speak to a patient, their family or their loved ones after our teams attend to an incident.
"But these statistics also make me feel immense pride. Pride in the work of our teams – our support staff, our fundraisers, our pilots, our paramedics and our doctors – but also pride in the city we all share."
London’s Air Ambulance introduced two new helicopters in October 2024. It costs the charity £14 million each year to provide London with the service, with 95% of funds coming from public donations.