Air Ambulance Responds To More Than 1,000 Emergencies In First Half Of 2026

(c) Tim Wallace

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has reached a significant milestone after responding to more than 1,000 emergency call-outs so far this year.

The charity, which recently began operating from its new airbase near Southampton Airport, says the landmark highlights the vital role its crews continue to play across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Since taking to the skies for the first time in 2007, the service's doctors, paramedics, pilots and dispatchers have attended more than 23,000 emergencies.

Cardiac arrests, serious road traffic collisions and severe medical incidents remain among the most common reasons crews are called out.

The charity's specialist teams are trained to deliver advanced medical treatment at the scene of an incident, including blood transfusions and other life-saving procedures that would normally only be available in hospital.

Almost one in ten patients treated by the service require a pre-hospital emergency anaesthetic, allowing crews to take over a patient's breathing and help protect vital organs before they reach hospital.

The move to a new purpose-built base is already helping crews reach patients more quickly. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance says it can now get to almost any emergency across the region within 10 minutes of take-off.

Chief Executive Richard Corbett said the milestone was a reminder that every mission involved people facing some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

He said:

"Behind every deployment, take-off and medical intervention, there are patients facing the worst moments of their lives, with their friends and family members anxiously waiting for a positive outcome.

"As a charity funded entirely by members of the public, we are indebted to our remarkable supporters who go above and beyond to keep their air ambulance flying and saving lives."

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance receives no direct government funding for its day-to-day operations and relies entirely on donations from the public to keep the service running.