New Zealand Flying Doctor Service

07/06/2026

From remote runways to life-saving care, the NZ Flying Doctor Service is delivering impact that truly counts.

05/06/2026

What a fabulous initiative by the Creating Well group from Arvida Waimea Plains!

Thank you so much for this generous donation. These woollen hats will be so warmly welcomed by patients on the NZ Flying Doctor Service planes this winter.

https://www.topsouthnow.co.nz/news/6a1381b22b7137038bf8b89b

Arvida Living Well Communities

Beanies donated to New Zealand Flying Doctors

29/05/2026

Helping patients return home is one of the most meaningful parts of the NZ Flying Doctor Service’s mission.

For Rachael, who lives in Koromiko near Picton, she never imagined she'd end up at Wellington Hospital having brain surgery.

She initially thought her pain was just a headache, but when it didn't go away a CT scan was ordered, revealing a substantial aneurysm in her brain.

After her surgery, Rachael was anxious to get home. The New Zealand Flying Doctor Service got her there.

“𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴.”

Read Rachael's story here:https://www.nzflyingdoctors.co.nz/stories/from-headache-to-hospital/

21/05/2026

A bittersweet Crew Friday as we’re farewelling New Zealand Flying Doctor pilot Rachel - but we’re happy she’s a step closer to her goal of flying with her big sister!

Based in Nelson, Rachel has transported hundreds of patients over the three and a half years she’s spent flying for the NZ Flying Doctor Service.

“It’s been such a privilege. I’ve been flying, which I love, and helping people at the same time,” Rachel says.

What will she miss the most? The crew.

“𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗭 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀. 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.”

Most memorable day at work?

“We were landing in Christchurch one day when a light aircraft that had just taken off declared an emergency. The pilot thought the person next to him was having a heart attack. The nurse in the back of our plane offered to assist.

“We both landed, and when the nurse went to help, he realised the person was actually having a seizure. He assisted until the ambulance arrived. It was pretty cool – we were coming to pick up a patient, but we got to help someone else along the way.”

Rachel is looking forward to her next challenge: flying the Dash 8-Q300 for Air New Zealand.

“My sister is a pilot on the Air NZ 787, and my dream is to fly with her one day. I’m excited to be taking a step closer to achieving that goal.”

Air New Zealand — you’ve got a good one here. We can’t wait to see Rachel and her sister in the cockpit together one day!

We wish you all the best, Rachel.

12/05/2026

And the winner is ....

𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗮!

Crews from the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter loved seeing these beautiful colourings and lovely comments for the crew. They simply couldn't choose just one winner, so the crews selected two finalists each - and from there we randomly selected the main prize winner.

The four finalists are:

🚁Siwoo, age 10
🚁Nina, age 3
✈️Francine, age 6
✈️Olivia, age 4

Thank you to all those who attended the GCH Aviation Open Day and generously supported the work of the NZ Flying Doctor Trust and the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust.

06/05/2026

Two NZ Flying Doctor flights and a Westpac Rescue Helicopter ride - these little girls have had a tough start to life.

Lilly and Penny Eades were born prematurely in Dunedin Hospital. Mum Sarah was flown there by the NZ Flying Doctor Service as there was no room in Christchurch's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The family eventually got back to Christchurch - with twin Lilly flown on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and sister Penny on the NZ Flying Doctor Service two weeks later.

“𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘆 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹.”

We're delighted our sister service the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, supported by the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, brought Lilly home and that we could reunite her with her sister a few weeks later.

Critical care in the air, 24/7.

Sarah shares her story here: https://www.nzflyingdoctors.co.nz/stories/three-flights-two-services-and-a-family-reunited/

04/05/2026

An enormous thank you to the Waimea Plains Retirement Village in Nelson for organising a fundraising evening for the NZ Flying Doctor Service.

It was a very successful evening for all involved, with a generous donation coming to the Trust as a result.

The NZ Flying Doctor Service transferred 1402 patients in 2025 with 811 of those flights using the Service's Nelson-based plane.

It's support like this that helps us keep this 24/7 mobile intensive care unit flying. Thank you.

Arvida Living Well Communities

23/04/2026

Arthur’s job is unpredictable.

Urgent calls can come through at any minute, and a mission can last anywhere from three to six hours.

“We spend a lot of time on the phone with Health New Zealand, talking about what specialist support the patient will need and arranging to have that support on hand.”

Arthur Ruddenklau is Operations Manager and Senior Pilot at the NZ Flying Doctor Service.

It's a complex job, made more complex by the Service's 24-hour nature - particularly when it comes to regional airports.

“You need to know the right people to call to turn on the runway lights and let ambulances through the gates at night."

Arthur has been flying for 34 years and at the helm of the NZ Flying Doctor Service for 16 years. His favourite part of the job is the homecomings.

“𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻. 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲.”

Read more about Arthur and the NZ Flying Doctor Service here: https://www.nzflyingdoctors.co.nz/our-crew/

22/04/2026

We're loving seeing the colouring competition entries coming in from the open day. We've decided to decorate one of the windows in the Flying Doctor offices, thank you Shane!

The effort that's been put into these is fantastic. Thank you.

If you picked up a picture and you'd like to send it in to enter the competition, just photograph it and send it to [email protected].

You have until May 1 to enter.

20/04/2026

We had an amazing day on Saturday. A huge thank you to everyone who came along, donated, and found out more about the service of the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service.