Capital Air Ambulance (Capital), the aeromedical subsidiary of Rigby Group's aviation division, has added a Learjet 45 to its fleet of BE200s. The Exeter-based company plans to extend its foothold in Europe by operating from a second UK location in the Midlands.

“Capital has grown rapidly since joining the group just two years ago, and is now poised to begin competing on a level platform with some of our largest European competitors,” says founder and chairman Sir Peter Rigby. “We have invested in new aircraft and highly trained crews, and have opened a second UK base at Coventry airport to extend our services across a much wider geographic area. We are now extremely well positioned to make a significant impact upon the European aeromedical sector over the coming months and years.”

Capital provides rapid response medical assistance services and repatriation flights and employs an experienced, multilingual team to deliver medical support and translation services on charter flights.

Since 2014, Capital has been part of the Rigby Group aviation division, which, through British International Helicopters, provides support to the UK offshore and defence sectors. It has invested in the customised Learjet to enable long haul repatriations, and now has 70 full and part-time staff on its books, responsible for a fleet of ten fixed and two rotary wing aircraft.

Head of Rigby's aviation division Paul Southall adds: “The company has exceeded all expectations so far, growing from strength to strength in an extremely competitive and challenging market. With months of investment and operational enhancements firmly in place, we see a huge window of opportunity for a British-owned aeromedical operator to seriously challenge the market and make significant strides in the coming months.”