Babcock is pleased to announce that its six-year fixed wing air ambulance services contract in Norway began on 1 July. The contract was awarded last year and has scope to extend beyond the initial contract period with options for a further five years. The service will be operational 24/7/365 and operate from seven bases across Norway. Babcock Scandinavian Air Ambulance will be responsible for all fixed wing air ambulance operations in Norway, transporting around 9,000 patients a year. All medical personnel on board will be employed by Norway’s public health service.

When putting this contract out to tender, Air Ambulance Services of Norway specified that a jet must be part of any solution. To fulfil this request, Babcock commissioned a bespoke Citation Latitude jet from Textron, identifying a number of modifications that are said to make its jet the most medically advanced fixed wing air ambulance in the world.

Babcock Scandinavian Air Ambulance will also be using 10 King Air B250s to fulfil the contract.

The deal has a value of around £500 million and will see Babcock operate 11 specialist fixed wing aircraft giving thousands of patients, particularly those in the north of the country, critical access to specialist healthcare centres nationwide.

The aircraft will each be fitted out with custom-designed medical interiors featuring hospital-standard equipment. They will form a key part of Norway’s overall healthcare infrastructure, where hospitals are increasingly developing specialist skills and capabilities for particular areas of treatment. Having a jet aircraft will dramatically reduce patient transfer times, allowing for direct patient flights across the whole of the country for the first time.

Babcock predicts the contract will create or sustain up to 100 jobs across seven Norwegian air bases; five in the north of the country, one on the west coast and one in Oslo.

Babcock has extensive experience of running helicopter emergency services across countries including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland as well as Australia and the UK. Its fleet of over 330 emergency service aircraft, operated by highly experienced crews and supported by skilled staff, executes around

90,000 missions each year, providing critical air ambulance, search and rescue, firefighting, police and civil protection services. The group also operates over 50 helicopters serving the oil and gas sector.

Babcock has also selected Proptech Aero, a Segers Group company based at Solent airport in Hampshire, UK, to provide a multi-year propeller maintenance service. This programme will support a fleet of King Air 250 aircraft used by Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance.

Proptech was awarded this contract after a comprehensive, competitive bid. The package includes cost per flight hour maintenance and the provision of spare propeller assemblies. Additionally, the operator will benefit from Proptech’s expertise in terms of engineering excellence, logistics and field support.

Proptech’s hourly programmes are adapted to the specific needs of the operator.