SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) seeks public support to continue life-saving missions

For nearly 60 years, the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) has served as a 'lifeline in the sky', delivering emergency medical care and rescue services to far-flung communities. 

Established in 1966 and later formed into an independent trust, the non-profit works closely with provincial health departments, operating helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that transport critically ill patients to major medical centres.

While the Western Cape funds a portion of AMS operations through a formal contract, many of the organisation’s outreach programmes, particularly the Flying Doctor Service in KwaZulu-Natal, depend heavily on public and corporate donations.

"A lot of our services are dependent on funding from the public and corporate South Africa to assist us to achieve that mission of innovatively providing these services and programmes to those in need in those remote and hard-to-reach areas,” says CEO Farhaad Haffejee.

Haffejee adds that the organisation not only provides essential medical support to remote communities but also builds the next generation of aviation and aeromedical professionals.

"One of the imperatives that we have as an organisation is to make sure we provide a platform to allow youngsters, especially those who previously have not had the opportunity, to be able to enter these aviation and medical professions and to be able to thrive in them."

To boost awareness and raise funds, AMS has launched a competition offering a scenic 25-minute helicopter flight for four, a Cape Town harbour boat trip, and a one-night Constantia stay valued at R19,000. Tickets cost R250.

Haffejee stresses that the proceeds support AMS’s mission of delivering life-saving care and specialist outreach to underserved areas.

"The competition that we're running is really about raising awareness about who the AMS is, about the good work that the AMS does, about the social impact that the AMS has."

To listen to Farhaad Haffejee in conversation with CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit, click below: