Concern as fuel costs soar for air ambulance

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) said its fuel costs have increased by 65% due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

In February, the charity said it was paying 66p per litre for aviation fuel but in March that had risen to £1.09 per litre.

"It went straight up. So last month, our fuel cost us £7,000 more than the month before," said Kathryn Marsden, the YAA's chief executive.

The charity has appealed to the public for more financial support to cope with rising costs of responding to emergencies.

"We don't pay VAT on aviation fuel for emergency services. So usually we would end up with spending approximately £276,000 a year on aviation fuel" says Mrs Marsden.

"It might go up, but if it stays at that level, we'd be going up to nearly half a million in fuel costs for the year" she adds.

Energy markets have been volatile since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

A number of air ambulance charities across the country have predicted a similar rise in costs due to the conflict with some worried it could impact patients.

"We're still planning to keep our operating hours as they are," said Marsden.

"If we couldn't achieve the income that we needed to achieve, then that might be something that had to change. At this moment in time, we don't anticipate that being the case."

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