Total UK Limited has announced that it will be supplying free jet fuel to both the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure that both services are able to continue carrying out life-saving work.

Jet fuel will be provided to the EHAAT’s fleet of two helicopters which provide first class, pre-hospital emergency medical treatment to the people of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas. The donation will support all three of the GNAAS’s helicopter fleet which covers the North East including Northumberland as well as Cumbria, North Yorkshire and the Scottish Borders.

Both air ambulance services run entirely from charitable donations. The donation from Total UK will initially cover each air ambulance service’s jet fuel requirements for one month but this will be reviewed during the pandemic and extended as required.

Total UK has existing relationships with both air ambulance services. Working with the EHAAT since 2018 providing jet fuel directly to the Earls Colne Airfield as well as indirectly at North Weald Airfield.

It has also been working with GNAAS since October 2019, offering advice on the service’s fuel farms, fuel tanks, capacity and delivery lead times. The jet fuel donation from Total UK will be the first delivery into its new facility at Urlay Nook, Eaglescliffe.

Ben Marchant, General Aviation Manager at Total UK, said: “The Total UK team is pleased to be able to support both essential air ambulance services during the Covid-19 pandemic. They rely entirely on charitable donations, so we are proud to play our part in helping them continue to carry out crucial, life-saving missions at this difficult time.”

Cliff Gale, Operations Director at EHAAT, said: “Essex & Herts Air Ambulance are delighted to be a beneficiary of a tank of free fuel from Total. The charity is continuing to provide its 24/7 life-saving care to the people and communities of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.”

Paul McManus, Head of Facilities at GNAAS, said: “We are extremely grateful to Total UK for supporting us during this incredibly challenging time. We really do need all the help we can get, so this is one less thing for us to worry about.

“We can’t wait to move our clinical teams over to our new base where Total UK have so kindly offered to provide our first delivery of fuel free of charge.”