Ornge, Ontario's provider of air ambulance and critical care transport services, has announced that Peter Cunnington, acting COO of aviation, has been appointed to the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) board of directors. The appointment is for a three-year term commencing December 2020 to November 2023.

Cunnington holds a helicopter Airline Transport Pilot Licence and has accumulated over 5,000 flight hours in his career.

At Ornge, Cunnington is responsible for the oversight of the company's rotor wing operations, fixed wing operations, aircraft maintenance operations and aviation safety operations. He offers more than 20 years of experience in the critical care transport medicine landscape.

“I am excited about the opportunity to serve on the ATAC board of directors,” he says. “I firmly believe in the ATAC mission and commitment to a safe, world-leading and sustainable Canadian air transport industry. Air ambulance services across Canada are an integral part to Canada's aviation landscape.”

Cunnington's career began in 1997 in the helicopter EMS industry as a pilot with the British Columbia Air Ambulance Service, transitioning to EMS captain serving the province of Ontario in 2002. During that time, he served as a flight standards captain in both Ontario and the Province of Nova Scotia's Emergency Health Services. He held progressively larger roles as a training captain, check pilot and chief pilot for Ornge's air ambulance helicopter programme, ultimately transitioning to director of flight operations, rotor wing, having overall responsibility for all aspects of safe flying operations across Ornge's rotor wing fleet and as liaison with Transport Canada and applicable regulatory agencies.