A Whangarei pilot wants to help more Northlanders who need assistance with travel to and from hospital appointments.
Tutukaka resident Lance Weller founded non-emergency air ambulance service charity Angel Flight New Zealand in 2012, to help transport people living in remote locations across the country to important medical appointments.
"There's a lot of people that are separated from major hospitals by hours of windy roads.
"It means that children, in particular, are sitting in cars for hours and hours when they really shouldn't be," he said.
The Onerahi-based charity has grown to include 126 volunteers across New Zealand, including pilots, co-ordinators and "earth angels" - people who drive patients to and from the airport.