Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance (SAA) has been selected to operate a patient transfer service for the people of Gothenburg in Sweden. To fulfil the four-year contract, valued at $46 million, the company will operate a specially-configured AW169 helicopter from a new base in the city. Flights are scheduled to commence this year once the operation transfers to Babcock from the current in-house provider.

MD Marius Hansen states: “We are enormously pleased to have been selected to provide this critical service for Vastra Gotaland County. This award extends the coverage we already provide to Sweden and recognises the reputation we have for delivering a trusted and critical service when it matters the most. We will provide thousands of patients across the area with vital access to swift and safe transport direct to the specialist healthcare centres they require.

“The AW169 will be the fifth of its kind that we have operated in Sweden, and it will carry trained medical staff equipped with the latest onboard technologies, ensuring patients receive the right level of specialist in-flight care.”

Babcock has extensive experience of providing HEMS in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland and the UK, and is also active in Australia. It performs roughly 63,000 missions each year.