East Anglian Air Ambulance warns soaring fuel prices are driving up cost of lifesaving missions
It says volatile fuel prices are adding significant costs to lifesaving service, as the average price of diesel reaches a record £2 a litre
East Anglian Air Ambulance says volatile fuel prices are adding significant costs to its lifesaving service, as the average price of diesel reaches a record £2 a litre.
The charity, which operates across the East of England, says it has seen the price it pays for aviation fuel rise by between 20% and 50% at different times, making its costs increasingly difficult to predict.
It comes as RAC Fuel Watch figures show the average UK price of diesel has reached 200.01p per litre, surpassing the previous record of 199.09p set in June 2022.
The RAC says filling a typical 55-litre diesel car now costs £110.01, £31.70 more than on February 28, before the US-Iran conflict began.
Petrol has also risen, with the motoring organisation putting the average price of unleaded at 174.71p per litre and the cost of a 55-litre tank at £96.09.
The RAC attributes the sharp increases to disruption to fuel supplies caused by the continuing conflict in the Middle East.
‘Even a small change makes a massive difference’
Richard Hindson, Director of Operations and Infrastructure at East Anglian Air Ambulance, said fuel represents a significant cost for the charity.
He told Greatest Hits Radio its aircraft burns around 322 litres of fuel an hour and said the service would typically spend about £250,000 a year on fuel.
“Even a small change in the cost profile of jet fuel makes a massive difference to us,” he said.
Mr Hindson said the charity has two operating bases, in Norwich and Cambridge, and the amount it pays for fuel can vary both between sites and from month to month.
He said: “We're seeing anything between a 20 to 50% increase in the price per litre.
“Sometimes it's a sharp increase and then a sharp decrease, or subtle increases or subtle decreases month by month.
“It makes it very hard to predict what we're actually going to have to pay.”
Mr Hindson described the volatility as a “huge worry” and said the charity had budgeted to account for variations in price.
But he added: “When we're talking about, at times, 50% increase in fuel prices, it's a huge additional cost to the charity.”
Charity fears pressure on supporters too
East Anglian Air Ambulance says the impact of rising prices could be felt on both sides of its finances.
Mr Hindson said much of its support comes from ordinary members of the public through regular donations, its lottery, fundraising events and other contributions.
With motorists now facing record diesel prices alongside wider cost-of-living pressures, he said there was a concern some households would have less money available to give.
He said: “It has an impact on our income because it takes money out of people's pockets and it has a significant impact on our expenditure because we have to pay more to do the same thing as we did before.
“So it doesn't enhance our services, it just allows us to do what we've always been doing.”
Mr Hindson stressed that the charity's income had so far proved resilient and supporters had continued to back it despite wider increases in the cost of living.
However, he said there was a limit to how much pressure households could absorb.
“The longer it goes on, the more likely it is that people will have to cut somewhere and it may be that they cut their charitable giving activities in favour of protecting their own families, which I completely understand that priority,” he said.
Service ‘not at risk’ from current fuel prices
Despite the pressures, East Anglian Air Ambulance says the rising costs are not currently threatening its financial sustainability or ability to respond to emergencies.
Mr Hindson said the charity had built up reserves over its 25-year history to help it withstand periods of financial pressure.
He said it was not in a position where continuing high prices in the short term would leave it unable to operate.
The charity aims to hold between nine and 12 months' worth of reserves and currently has close to the full 12 months, according to Mr Hindson.
He also said he was confident the current rise in fuel costs would not force the service to reduce its operational hours or ability to respond.
However, Mr Hindson warned that persistently unsustainable increases in expenditure would eventually require any organisation to either increase its income or find savings.
He said such savings could potentially reduce capability somewhere within the charity, although he stressed no such operational reduction was currently expected.
Diesel reaches £2 a litre
The RAC described the average diesel price crossing £2 a litre as a threshold “no-one wanted to cross”.
Its Head of Policy, Simon Williams, said a driver of an average diesel car achieving 45mpg and travelling 10,000 miles a year would now spend around £2,020 annually on fuel.
He warned higher costs could affect commuters as well as haulage and delivery companies, fleet operators and sole traders, and said businesses could ultimately pass some of their additional costs on to customers.
The RAC also said disruption to the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty surrounding international fuel supplies could place further pressure on prices.
Mr Williams called on the Government to consider measures to reduce the burden on motorists, including changes to fuel duty or VAT in the October Budget.