Babcock has completed the first flight of its new five-year contract for helicopter operations out of Sumburgh, Shetland.

Current plans will see Babcock's Offshore business conduct more than 100 flights a month to installations in the northern North Sea on behalf of oil and gas companies EnQuest, TAQA and CNR International.

Passengers fly from Aberdeen to Sumburgh on a Loganair ATR42 aircraft, before taking the final leg by offshore helicopter. The first flight of 38 passengers left Aberdeen International airport on a Loganair aircraft arriving at Sumburgh where they transferred to Babcock S-92 helicopters, with one helicopter flying 19 passengers to CNR's Ninian Southern platform and another taking 19 passengers to TAQA's Cormorant Alpha and Tern platforms.

Offshore director Ian Cooke says: “Today's first flight marks a significant moment for us as we embark on a new relationship with an important new customer group. We are basing aircraft in Sumburgh full-time to serve this contract and will also be investing in facilities there and in Aberdeen. We pride ourselves on operating to the highest levels of safety, and I'm looking forward to Babcock delivering a safe and efficient aviation service to support our customers' operations in Shetland.”

Loganair director of charter services Fiona MacLeod adds: “This is a significant contract win for us, strengthening our oil and gas commitment, in a sector where we have considerable long-term experience. In partnership with Babcock, we will be providing vital links for three major North Sea companies. We have dedicated two of our 49-seat ATR42 turboprops to the service, a type newly introduced to the Loganair fleet, of which we have five in total.”