Austria-based aeromedical operator ÖAMTC Air Rescue Service has taken over Elikos Helicopter Service in Italy's South Tyrol region, setting an important milestone for the future.

Elikos operates throughout the Dolomites from its base in Pontives, near Ortisei in Val Gardena. Its pilots have gained extensive experience over the years flying cargo transports and air rescue missions; the decision to integrate Elikos into ÖAMTC was based on long-term strategic planning.

“It is already foreseeable that young pilots will no longer have the full qualifications we require in the future. Experience with high mountain landings and external load flights in particular is essential for the demanding missions that we fly every day,” says managing director Marco Trefanitz. “It was therefore necessary to take measures at an early stage to meet this challenge.”

By integrating Elikos, ÖAMTC Air Rescue can now provide potential pilots with these important experiences itself.

“Our future pilots will benefit from the extensive opportunities that Elikos offers and will thus be optimally prepared for their tasks at the ÖAMTC Air Rescue,” adds Trefanitz.

Elikos' business activities will continue to focus on South Tyrol in the future; this means that expertise for all types of transport flights in the region will remain, while at the same time being integrated into the ÖAMTC Air Rescue training programmes.

“On the one hand, this step strengthens the continuous development of our training programmes in order to meet future requirements and on the other hand, it also ensures the regional anchoring and orientation of the established South Tyrolean company,” he concludes.