London Helicopter Guide
London's Air Ambulance: 1989 to today

History

London's Air Ambulance: 1989 to today

From the 1988 Royal College of Surgeons report to rooftop helipad and H135s

Hero image: Simon Lamrock from London UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From the 1988 Royal College of Surgeons report to rooftop helipad and H135s.

Key facts

  • G-HEMS Dec 1988; charity Jan 1989; first mission Sep 1989
  • Doctor on board Jan 1990
  • Round-the-clock Jan 2010; rooftop Dec 2011; H135s Oct 2024

In date order

  1. 1988 (December)London's Air Ambulance first helicopter G-HEMS lands at Trinity Square Gardens
    Official timeline: RCS report November 1988; charity set up January 1989; first mission September 1989 (transplant organs from Scotland). londonsairambulance.org.uk
    Confidence: verified (charity site, retrieved by extraction)
  2. 1990 (January)First doctor and paramedic on board London's Air Ambulance
    Biggin Hill initial base. Later: Jan 1998 MD902 Explorer replaces Dauphin; Jan 2010 round-the-clock; Dec 2011 helipad on top of The Royal London Hospital; Feb 2013 overnight base Denham to RAF Northolt; Jan 2016 second helicopter; Oct 2024 two Airbus H135. londonsairambulance.org.uk
    Confidence: verified (charity site)

Pictures

London's Air Ambulance G-EHMS landing at Euston Road, July 2009
London's Air Ambulance G-EHMS landing at Euston Road, July 2009Simon Lamrock from London UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
London's Air Ambulance helicopter near Tower Bridge, 2013
London's Air Ambulance helicopter near Tower Bridge, 2013Matthew Bell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Check first

Historical details differ between sources. We give the source for each entry and say where it is secondary.

Sources and checks

Facts on this page come from these sources, last checked 2026-11-03. Where a source could not be reached or did not say, we left the fact out.

  1. londonsairambulance.org.uk londonsairambulance.org.uk