The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Air Ambulances UK have issued a joint warning about lasers being aimed at emergency helicopters, highlighting the danger to flight crews and the potential disruption to time-critical medical treatment.
Published on 10 September 2026 to coincide with UK Air Ambulance Week, the warning focuses on lasers directed from the ground at helicopters operating at night. The CAA said emergency air ambulances make more than 135 flights a day across the UK.
The regulator recorded 94 laser attacks on emergency helicopters during 2025. It recorded a further 35 attacks in the first half of 2026. The figures form part of the preventive safety campaign and do not relate to a newly identified individual incident or prosecution.
The CAA said direct exposure to a high-intensity laser can temporarily blind and distract a pilot, and can also cause lasting eye injury. It described the potential consequences of an attack as catastrophic because the effect can compromise the safe operation of an aircraft.
The warning places particular emphasis on air-ambulance operations, where many helicopters operate with one pilot. In those circumstances, a sudden laser exposure can create an immediate operational risk while the aircraft is carrying out an emergency task.
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The CAA and Air Ambulances UK also highlighted the possible effect on patients. A laser attack can jeopardise flight safety and delay time-critical treatment, making the issue both a crew-safety concern and a potential interruption to the emergency medical response.
The CAA states that laser attacks on aircraft are criminal offences. Deliberately directing a laser at an aircraft can lead to a prison sentence of up to five years.
The appeal is directed at stopping lasers being aimed from the ground at helicopters flying at night. The warning presents the risk as more than a momentary nuisance: temporary loss of vision or distraction can affect a pilot’s ability to operate safely, while lasting eye injury could have continuing consequences.
The announcement is therefore a public safety warning rather than a report of an arrest, charge, conviction or sentence in a particular case. Its focus is prevention, with the regulator stressing that an attack could endanger the aircraft and interfere with an emergency medical mission.
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