Coalition pledges $4.9m to Angel Flight, who fly people for ‘spiritual healing’ and more

The charity will use the money to put a plane in Alice Springs and expand their network of nationally – which ‘briefly’ included flights for ‘spiritual healing’. Find out more.

Angel Flight Australia chief executive Marjorie Pagani, federal Nationals party leader David Littleproud, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, at Alice Springs Airport, Monday April 21, 2025. Picture: Gera Kazakov

An organisation which flies people for “spiritual healing” – and more – is set to bring a plane to Alice Springs with it’s promised $4.9 million in funding, if the coalition is elected to government.

Angel Flight Australia will receive the money from the coalition to help the organisation get seven new planes, a pledge which will “help to close the medical care gap” in the bush, according to chief executive Marjorie Pagani.

“We are very, very different from the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service), we are not emergency services,” Ms Pagani said.

Angel Flight Australia chief executive Marjorie Pagani. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“We carry the non-emergency patients to and from the cities, it might be they’re flown up for chemo or to get their heart checks.”

Speaking at Alice Springs Airport on Monday, Ms Pagani said the charity does “about 500 flights a year” nationwide and has “3000 volunteer pilots with their own aircraft”.

“But what we’re doing now is expanding that,” she said, with plans to get a plane in “every capital city” in Australia in order to “bring the medical profession, specialist GPS, allied health into the Bush”.

She also mentioned the organisation “briefly” flew people for “spiritual healing” at one stage.

One of the seven new planes will be based in Alice Springs, according to CLP candidate Lisa Siebert, who joined Ms Pagani at the airport.

CLP Lingiari candidate Lisa Siebert, federal Nationals party leader David Littleproud, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, at Alice Springs Airport. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“They’ll fly to regional and remote areas to take the patients to obtain medical services,” she said.

Federal National Party leader David Littleproud was also part of the entourage of politicians at the airport, and said he was “lost” as to why media would “challenge” him on the funding announcement.

“This is $4.9 million of Australian taxpayers money, it’s going to help increase the health outcomes of regional remote Australians,” he said.

Mr Littleproud said the money going towards Angel Flight will come from the recently announced “regional Australia future fund”.

National Party leader David Littleproud. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“The $20 billion fund that we are going to seed fund from $5 billion from the ‘rewiring in the nation’ because we’re not going to need the transmission lines because we’re going to build nuclear power plants instead of all the renewables, and we’re going to take the windfalls every year until we get that fund to $20 billion from our resources” he said.

Under the coalition’s proposed nuclear plan, the Territory will not get a plant, the closest being in either SA in Port Augusta or Callide in Queensland. 

Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price also joined her party colleagues at the airport, supporting the announcement.
“Angel Flight do some remarkable work, some absolutely remarkable work, and to be able to bring those specialists straight to the patients in remote communities is something that we absolutely need,” she said.

The federal election will be held on May 3, with pre-polling beginning on Tuesday.

Originally published as Coalition pledges $4.9m to Angel Flight, who fly people for ‘spiritual healing’ and more