Devon Air Ambulance went to Westminster on June 2 with a blunt warning for MPs: soaring aviation fuel and operating costs could threaten the future of a service that crews rely on every day. The charity said the pressure is already severe enough that fuel costs alone could rise by more than £200,000 this year and effectively double.

That message matters now because the charity says it is funded entirely by public donations while demand for its crews remains high across Devon’s rural, coastal and hard-to-reach communities. Greg Allen said the service delivers hospital-level care at scene when every minute matters, but that the cost of keeping it in the air is rising fast, especially on fuel.

Representatives from the charity were due to attend a national reception for air ambulance services in Parliament on Tuesday, June 2, and to speak directly with Devon MPs about what the numbers mean in practice. The charity is asking them to back measures that could cut aviation fuel costs for air ambulance charities, including VAT relief or a rebate scheme.

The warning lands as the charity is also planning a new combined headquarters and airbase, which it says would help keep the service operating on a 24-hour basis. The Exeter airbase sits within the constituency of David Reed MP, who is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Air Ambulances and has previously visited the site.

That connection gives Devon Air Ambulance a route into Parliament, but it does not guarantee a fix. The charity is inviting MPs to visit its operations over the coming months, and Allen has called for cross-party support so the case for fair, sustainable funding is heard beyond Devon, where the costs are rising faster than the donations that pay for them.