London’s Air Ambulance has revealed it is facing a £6m gap in income over the next five years.

The announcement comes as the charity announced it treated almost 1,500 critically injured patients across London in 2020. Of these around a third were victims of knife and gun crime and 371 were from road traffic incidents.

The income drop has been caused by the postponement and cancellation of public fundraising, which the charity said it “relies heavily on”.

This included the cancellation of its annual abseiling event, which raised £132,000 the previous year. The cancellation of the London Marathon cost the charity an estimated £82,000, it adds.



“When London calls, our teams are on the front line, racing across the city to reach the capital’s most critically injured patients in need of life-saving care at the scene,” said the charity’s chief executive Jonathan Jenkins.

“During the pandemic 1493 patients still needed the expert clinical care that only London’s Air Ambulance can provide. We are so grateful to our crews and to our supporters for enabling us to be there when those 1494 people needed us the most. When London calls, we can be there because of you.

“However, the effect 2020 has had on our finances is sizeable as we were forced to stop many of our usual fundraising activities. This impact will be felt for years to come - we forecast a £6 million gap in our income over the next five years.”

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