Fuel costs surge by a third for Essex and Herts Air Ambulance
It could put extra pressure on life-saving operations across the region
Last updated 7th Jul 2022
The Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) has seen fuel costs increase by a third as prices continue to soar across the country.
Relying almost completely on donations, EHAAT operates all year round.
The charity operates helicopters and rapid response vehicles, which cost hundreds of thousands of pounds per year, sourced through fundraising.
We spoke to Director of Operations, Cliff Gale: "The price of Jet A1, which is the fuel the helicopters use, has doubled since this time last year.
"When we set our budgets towards the end of last year, we budgeted for the two aircraft at around £160,000 for the year.
"Now, with the way fuel prices have increased, we're expecting to spend approximately £220,000 - that's a £60,000 increase."
Despite these cost increases, Cliff insists they won't stop EHAAT doing their job: "We have quite a robust reserve policy which does cater for this. There's no way that we would sacrifice the availability of the aircraft currently despite the price of fuel...
"We're tasked by the East of England Ambulance services to help those people that need us the most and we wouldn't not go well... obviously, we're very prudent with money and we're keeping an eye on the budgets...
"Ultimately though, this is the people of Essex and Hertfordshire's Air Ambulance and we're not going anywhere."