A life-saving air ambulance service that supports emergency callouts on the Isle of Man is appealing for public support after one of its busiest years on record.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), which provides critical care across the North of England and the Isle of Man, responded to 2,083 incidents in 2024, including a number on the island.

The charity, which receives no government funding, needs to raise £9.3 million each year, or around £25,000 a day, to keep flying.

A new appeal launched recently aims to highlight the whole team behind the service, including pilots, critical care paramedics and pre-hospital emergency medicine doctors, as well as the vital role of the public and volunteers.

Joe Garcia, interim chief executive officer at GNAAS, said: ‘The past few years have been challenging for GNAAS, and as time goes on, our aircraft are ageing and the cost of running this service is increasing, while charitable support across all charities is dropping.’

He added: ‘In 2024 we were predicted to run at a deficit and go into our limited reserves just to keep us flying, and we don’t want history to repeat itself.’

GNAAS operates across an area of more than 8,000 square miles.

When deployed to the Isle of Man, their team brings care directly to patients in remote or hard-to-reach locations and supports emergency services on the ground.

The charity is now urging islanders to support its latest appeal in any way they can.

Last month, it was confirmed that a new agreement had been reached between Manx Care and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), securing the continuation of the emergency air service for a further 12 months from this month onwards (April 2025).

The decision followed a period of uncertainty about the service's future after Health and Social Care Minister Claire Christian admitted in Tynwald that Manx Care was operating with GNAAS on a ‘goodwill basis.’

To find out more, about GNAAS, visit gna.as/appeal2025