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For Newfoundland and Labrador Patients the Journey to Medical Care Can Be Thousands of Kilometres. St. John’s Haul for Hope is Helping Them Get to Care.

Hope Air and St. John’s International Airport bring the community together October 2 to help patients overcome the distance and cost of travelling for vital medical care

ST. JOHN’S, NL – September 28, 2026 – In Newfoundland and Labrador, receiving specialized medical care can begin with a journey far from home.

Patients travel from Labrador, the Northern Peninsula, the West Coast and communities across the province to reach specialized care in St. John’s. For others, getting to St. John’s is only the beginning, with treatment requiring travel even farther outside the province.

On Friday, October 2, St. John’s International Airport and the Newfoundland and Labrador community will come together to help make those journeys possible at Hope Air’s Haul for Hope, hosted by PAL Airlines.

Haul for Hope will challenge teams to pull a firetruck 100 metres across the airport tarmac, raising critical funds to help patients who must travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to reach the medical care they need.

For patients already facing serious illness, the cost and logistics of getting to treatment can become another significant burden. Hope Air provides free flights, accommodations, meals and ground transportation to Canadians in financial need, helping ensure a patient’s postal code or financial circumstances don’t determine whether they can access healthcare.

The need is significant in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2025 alone, Hope Air supported 3,381 medical travel arrangements for patients across the province, including more than 1,472 flights and 1,142 nights of accommodation. Patients from 77 Newfoundland and Labrador communities >received support—from Margaree to Bay Bulls, and Burin to Cartwright.

St. John’s International Airport plays an important role as host of Haul for Hope and as a gateway for patients travelling to and from the province for medical care. By bringing the event onto the airport tarmac, St. John’s International Airport is helping shine a light on a journey that thousands of patients and families know all too well.

“St. John’s International Airport is proud to host Haul for Hope for a second consecutive year,” said Dennis Hogan, CEO, St. John’s International Airport. “This event brings our community together in support of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who face the challenges of travelling for medical care. We’re honoured to partner with Hope Air and play a role in helping people access the care they need.”

The event comes as Hope Air celebrates 40 years of helping Canadians overcome the distance to medical care. The organization’s connection to Atlantic Canada reaches back to its beginnings.

“Hope Air’s roots are deeply connected to Atlantic Canada,” said Mark Rubinstein, Chief Hope Officer, Hope Air. “One of our co-founders, Joan Rogers, saw patients arriving in Toronto for treatment after exhausting 15- to 20-hour bus journeys. She saw firsthand the toll that getting to care placed on people already facing serious illness, and it helped inspire what became Hope Air. Forty years later, patients in Newfoundland and Labrador are still travelling extraordinary distances for healthcare. Every metre pulled and every dollar raised at Haul for Hope helps provide the flights, accommodations, meals and ground transportation patients need to reach medical care.

The firetruck only has to travel 100 metres. For a Hope Air patient, the journey it represents could be hundreds or thousands of kilometres.

A special thank you to the national sponsors supporting all six 2026 Haul for Hope events in Kelowna, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and St. John’s:

WestJet, Porter, YVR, Uber Canada, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Calgary International Airport, Pratt & Whitney Canada, CDW Canada, Signature Aviation, Stolport, Nieuport Aviation, Toronto Port Authority and Edmonton International Airport.

ABOUT HOPE AIR
Hope Air is Canada’s national charity providing free flights, accommodations, meals and ground transportation for Canadians in financial need who must travel long distances to access medical care.

In 2025, Hope Air provided 38,392 medical travel services, supporting 10,288 patient and escort trips and 14,433 flights across 710 communities.

For Hope Air patients, the financial barrier to medical travel can be significant:
  • 58% would delay or cancel needed medical care if they had to pay more than $500 to travel for treatment.
  • The average annual household income is $40,000.
  • A patient would pay approximately $2,600 per trip without Hope Air support.
  • Patients supported by Hope Air reported a 36% reduction in hospital admissions and a 27% reduction in emergency department visits. For more information, visit hopeair.ca.

    HOPE AIR MEDIA CONTACT
    Christine Stolte,
    Marketing Coodinator
    cstolte@hopeair.ca