BACKGROUND - Who We Are:

Angel Flight Australia (AF) is a charity organisation providing assistance to people who need to travel to major centres for medical purposes.  The usual mode of transport is by volunteer private aircraft. The purpose of the charity is to help fill the gap between aero medical providers such as Care Flight and the Royal Flying Doctor Service and normal forms of transport such as self driving or public transport. 

Our Mission:

AF provides flights for non emergency patients and carers who need medical treatment at places where other forms of transport are physically or emotionally taxing or are unaffordable by the patient. To be eligible for AF assistance the patient must be able to enter and exit an aircraft unaided and sit upright with a seat belt on during the flight. Flights can be long as Cunnamulla to Toowoomba or short as Warwick to Brisbane where the stress of driving or other methods of transport are a problem for the patient. The flights are at no cost to the patient. 

Initially the patient and health provider discuss the patient’s circumstances. The health provider contacts AF on the phone number below and discusses the patient’s eligibility for assistance. The health provider is required to register with AF which can be done simply on the web site below. All flights are arranged by AF to suit the needs of the patient, and patients can benefit from multiple flights. One young lady from Chinchilla with severe kidney problems was flown by AF more than 400 times over several years. It is not unusual for patients to be flown numerous times.  

Community Good Will

AF receives no support from Governments and depends entirely on the good will of the community through private donation and organisations such as Rotary and Lions for funds to provide this great community service. Volunteers can help as Earth Angels who transport patients by car from their homes or medical centres to the airports. Volunteer pilots donate their aircraft, time, skills and some costs to allow patients to travel in comfort from regional towns to major centres in as short a time as practical. Both pilots and aircraft must meet stringent CASA requirements to be able to conduct flights. As of December 2011, AF has completed almost 12,000 flights since its inception in 2003. 

Latest Stanthorpe Activities 

An Angel Flight Australia beneficiary evening was held at the property of Fay and Mike Roselt on Border Road in mid November. The weather gods were kind and the night around the camp fire turned out to be a great success with everyone having an enjoyable evening under the stars and a full moon. Throughout the night many stories were exchanged with the “tallness” seeming to increase somewhat as the evening wore on.

Attendees were entertained by the live music and singing of the “Stunned Possums” in between conversations with all and sundry. Young Zac Vichie did an excellent job of keeping the camp fire stoked and managing the contributions for the meals and drinks.

Local businesses also supported the night either directly or by donations. Anna’s Restaurant, Castlemaine Perkins, The Summit Fruit, Robert Channon Wines, QCWT, Woolworths, IGA, and Strawberry Fields all provided produce or products for the evening meal and beverages. Our local Target Country store chipped in with a gift voucher. Other businesses including Pierpoint Motors, Central Motors, Cattarins Mechanical Repairs and Logan Steel Real Estate helped out with donations.

A great evening was enjoyed by everyone and importantly thanks to the generosity of all involved $756 was raised for Angel Flight Australia. This year there have been 40 Angel Flights into and out of Stanthorpe helping three members of our community. As Angel Flight receives no grants from governments, it depends on the generosity of people through events such as the above; Opera in the Vineyard; and donations from service clubs and/or individuals to provide this wonderful voluntary service to our regional communities.

Contact Details:

To find out more about Angel Flight Australia please go to the website www.angelflight.org.au and explore. If you are interested in volunteering, detailed information is available on the website. If you are interested in registering as a health provider or volunteering, feel free to contact Angel Flight on 07 36208300 or by . 

Visit Angel Flight's current newsletter, click here.