Air Ambulance Week 2026: Every Mission Starts With You

Air Ambulance Week is under way across the UK — and Northern Ireland’s crew is part of it.

From 7 to 13 September 2026, air ambulance charities are sharing one message: “Every Mission Starts With You.” In Northern Ireland, Air Ambulance NI’s helicopter emergency medical service averages about two callouts a day. The charity says it needs £8,200 every day from donations to keep delivering urgent critical care when sudden life-threatening injury or illness hits.

Jack’s story — Portadown, April 2025

One of the families who know what that support can mean is Jack Whittle’s. On 4 April 2025, Jack, then nine, collapsed during a PE lesson at his Portadown school. He suffered a cardiac arrest. Teachers started CPR and used the school defibrillator. Paramedics arrived, then the Air Ambulance landed in the playground. The HEMS team worked with Northern Ireland Ambulance Service colleagues at the scene before Jack was taken to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.

His mum, Nicole, said cardiac arrest had not crossed their minds when the school first called. “It was so frightening watching it all happen, but the ambulance crews and Air Ambulance team were incredible,” she said. “They were calm, focused and never stopped working on him. That gave us hope.”

After intensive care, Jack was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. His family say he has gone from strength to strength. “We got our boy back and that’s thanks to everyone who helped save his life that day,” Nicole said. “We truly believe the Air Ambulance helped give Jack his second chance.”

“Every lifesaving mission begins with the community”

Kerry Anderson, Head of Fundraising at Air Ambulance NI, said: “Every lifesaving mission begins long before our helicopter takes to the skies – it begins with the incredible support of our community. Whether you donate, fundraise, volunteer or simply help spread the word about the vital work of Air Ambulance NI, you are playing a part in helping our crew reach someone when they need us most.

“Air Ambulance Week is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the people behind the service and recognise the difference that your support makes every single day. Together, we can help ensure that when the call comes, our team is ready to lift off and deliver lifesaving care to those who need it most.”

First-owned helicopter — and Lift Off Together

Air Ambulance NI has bought its first-owned helicopter — a major step for the charity’s long-term resilience. The aircraft is currently with Sloane Helicopters at Sywell in England for an extensive medical fit-out that turns a civilian airframe into a flying intensive care unit, including communications systems specific to Northern Ireland. LoveBelfast covered the Lift Off Together milestone when that investment was announced.

This Air Ambulance Week, supporters can still join Lift Off Together: for a £200 donation, a name — yours or someone special — can go on the underside of the new helicopter. Space is limited.

More on Air Ambulance NI: airambulanceni.org