The Romanian Ministry of Interior has signed a contract to purchase three H135 helicopters along with associated support and services for air medical services and SAR missions in the country. This follows a four-year framework agreement signed at the end of July 2019 that foresees the procurement of up to ten H135s.

“During 15 years of air medical services, the well-known SMURD mission for critically ill patients, the H135 has proven its utility, being a rotorcraft which adapts rapidly to all types of requests,” says Commander Dache Paul Catalin, IGAv general inspector. The IGAv is the inspectorate of general aviation and handles humanitarian missions. “All advantages, mainly the flexible maintenance, management of space for the transport of passengers and patients, the speed, the capability to land in a limited area, the possibility to operate life-saving medical interventions during flight, the capability to fly during day and night, and its versatility for mountain missions thanks to the hoist, are essential when it comes to critical life saving missions.”

Head of Airbus Helicopters in Romania Georges Durdilly adds: “Airbus has been an active player in Romania for almost 50 years and we are proud that the Ministry of Interior has selected the H135 for such critical missions. As a market leader with more than 600 helicopters in service for air medical service missions worldwide, I have no doubt that it will be a valuable life-saving asset to the country.”

Airbus Helicopters has delivered more than 1,300 H135s to customers around the globe who are logging more than 400,000 flight hours per year. The type's operational scope includes law enforcement, air medical services, private and business aviation, the maintenance of industrial wind parks and military training. The H135 is often used in air medical services, available in a wide range of dedicated interiors that maximise operators' choice in configurations, providing room for single-patient or dual-patient transport. The H135 family of helicopter has clocked more than five million flight hours, being in service with more than 300 operators worldwide.