When time is of the essence.
When time is of the essence and distance is an issue, the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service is the only option for many patients.
This service provides critical-care patient transfers between hospitals across New Zealand.
As a flying intensive care unit with highly trained medical staff and specialist equipment, patients receive a seamless level of care from bed to bed, they are in the safest hands.
The service operates 24/7 flying critical care burn victims, spinal injury patients, neonatal transfers, trauma victims, and surgery transfers.
Flight times from Christchurch to:-
- Greymouth 30 minutes
- Nelson 45 minutes
- Wellington 50 minutes
- Invercargill 1 hour
- Auckland 1 hour 50 minutes
- Chatham Islands 2 hours 30 minutes
Flight times from Nelson to:-
- Blenheim 15 minutes
- Wellington 30 minutes
- Christchurch 45 minutes
- Auckland 1 hour 20 minutes
The New Zealand Flying Doctor Service flies, on average, close to 1,500 patients each year.
10
Christchurch
4
Nelson
Missions
Every year the number of patients transferred by the New Zealand Flying Doctor increases. In 2025 a total of 1402 people used the service. This air ambulance is a critical-care patient transfer service with flights across the South Island, and also to the North Island to Starship, Taranaki, Wellington, New Plymouth, Tauranga and even across to the Chatham Island.
Flights from the Nelson base have been higher than from the Christchurch Base and there are plans to bring in an extra plane to support the increasing numbers.
22
Part time
22
Part time
Why do we need support now?
Mission numbers have increased significantly in recent years resulting in a deficit between the government funding available (Te Whatu Ora) and the demand for the service.