The Latest Breaking News from The Royal Flying Doctor Service

Bush battlers beg airlines for budget flights

Steep competition is driving up regional plane fares and forcing route cancellations, leaving communities crying out for more travel options.

AAP · Sep 11

Mates jump at Green Shadows to get bus to Birdsville

A man who races yabbies and auctions goldfish couldn't resist a stake in a nag that never made it in the city, but is a red-hot chance in the dust and dirt.

AAP · Sep 3

Australia's famous flying doctors more needed than ever

Healthcare access has long been a challenge for rural and regional communities but Australia's famous flying doctors are now in even more demand.

AAP · Mar 13

Airport repair boost for 'desperate' remote communities

A funding lifeline has been thrown to remote communities relying on crumbing airstrips for essential services, such as medical emergencies.

AAP · May 9, 2024

Flying doctor spreads its wings to primary health care

Thousands of new patients have flocked to primary healthcare clinics staffed by the Royal Flying Doctor Service in the outback.

AAP · Feb 9, 2024

Flying Doctors bring community to remote Australia

The work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service remains as vital as ever for people in rural areas as an outback Queensland base marks its 80-year anniversary.

AAP · Oct 7, 2023

Newcastle's Mulletfest crew hits the road for Red CentreNATS in Alice Springs

Mulleted manes will be judged at Mulletfest parades this weekend.

Newcastle Herald · Sep 2, 2023

A wing and a prayer: flying doctors and the struggle to access healthcare in remote Australia

Helen Kidd caught the mail plane to Brisbane to take her daughter Belle to hospital, but when the worst happened she relied on volunteer organisations

The Guardian - AU · Aug 19, 2023

81yo pilot-doctor David Cooke still flies to treat patients and leads weekly aerial display

He lands in a cow paddock to visit country patients, and for fun takes out his vintage plane to lead a regular air show. It's all in a week's work for Dr Cooke, who has no plans to retire any time soon.

ABC News · Jun 3, 2023

Physiotherapist takes to the skies to heal pain in outback towns

For the first time, a physiotherapist will join the Royal Flying Doctor Service to help treat chronic pain in South Australian patients living in the vast outback.

ABC News · Mar 28, 2023