Angel Flight East

Angel Flight aims to deliver a cost-effective program that mobilizes compassionate volunteers to serve transportation needs. It seeks to ensure that adults and children, regardless of financial situation, can reach specialized clinical care, especially underserved rural populations and people with rare diseases. In addition to logistical and financial support of free air transportation, Angel Flight East also furnishes a patient resource guide on its website, and offers referrals for other patient assistance, such as lodging and caregiver support.

The Volunteer Pilot Program partners with private pilots who use their aircraft to get people to medical treatment or clinical trial participation within 600 nautical miles.

The Commercial Airline Donation Program relies on the generosity of commercial airline partners to offer flights to patients who cannot be flown through the Volunteer Pilot program.

The Patient Emergency Fund Program uses donated funds to help purchase commercial flights or other transportation when patients' scheduled flights are cancelled due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

A Patient Resource Guide of patient support partners is furnished on the website.

Angel Flight East is an affiliate of the Air Care Alliance, a national non-profit group dedicated to awareness and best practices for public benefit flying. Through its website and social media, AFE works to raise awareness for the need arising for medical travel. Angel Flight East recruits FAA licensed pilots over a 14-state region from Maine to North Carolina and Ohio who donate their time and use of their aircraft for the program. Angel Flight East works with hospitals, social service providers and legislators to increase awarness of the availibility of the service. Through active outreach via the web and in our communities, we reach patients and provide linkage to other support. Compassionate volunteers, committed donors and skilled pilots mobilized by the organization fund and run between 800 and 900 scheduled flights annually.

The system put in place by Angel Flight has made medical care available to hundreds of patients who otherwise would not be able to travel from where they live to receive needed medical treatment.

Outreach to rural populations across six states - NY, PA, OH, VA, MD and WV - will be a continuing outreach initiative in 2020 and 2021. Community outreach to church and faith-based communities in the Philadelphia area will be ongoing.

We will also continue to work with rare disease organizations and hospitals we serve across major metropolitan centers including New York, Boston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Philadelphia.