In pictures: Family fun day at Luton airport supports East Anglian Air Ambulance charity

Luton airport was the backdrop of a special fundraising event for East Anglian Air Ambulance at the weekend, raising hundreds of pounds for the vital medical help the charity provides across the region.

Families met at the hangar of private jet company, Signature Aviation, at the terminal and enjoyed looking at the military planes as well as meeting some Disney characters.

East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) cares for thousands of people a year, and on average, responds to eight calls a day from its Cambridge and Norwich bases. Each mission costs nearly £4,000 – and last year, the charity was sent to over 2,800 calls.

The charity deals with everything from road traffic collisions to cardiac arrests to medical emergencies and gets critical care paramedics and pilots to patient’s in the fastest time possible.

Sarah Cunningham, volunteer support lead with EAAA, said: “A heartfelt thank you to Signature Aviation, Luton who chose to support EAAA at their recent family open day. This not only helped to raise awareness of EAAA’s 24/7 life-saving work in Bedfordshire, but it also raised an incredible £687 to give people in the region the best chance of surviving and recovering from a life-threatening emergency.

“Each EAAA mission costs an average of £3,750 and, with no regular government funding, we rely almost entirely on the support of local businesses and people who enable us to continue to serve our communities. We could not do this without such outstanding support.”

Its helicopter and rapid response vehicles carry equipment to help with blood transfusions, advanced pain relief, sedation and anaesthesia, and surgical interventions.

Scroll down to see all the fun at the hangar last week.