On Tuesday, 1 November, the Swedish Maritime Administration will take over the operational responsibility for the search and rescue helicopters in Sweden. The take-over will be executed through a governmental acquisition of all the stocks in Norrlandsflyg’s parent company Scandinavian Helicopter Invest (SHI) through the national Maritime Administration.

The acquisition is made in order to ensure an available nationwide search and rescue service, both financially and operationally. The decision has been made on the fact that the current operator,Norrlandsflyg, has been dealing with financial difficulties the past year, and that there is no real market for procuring these kinds of services.

The take-over requires a parliamentary approval, which was gained today by an unanimous assembly.

The deal secures three critical elements in the operation – the rescue helicopters, the permits to conduct the air service and the unique competence rooted in Norrlandsflyg’s personnel.

Norrlandsflyg has performed civil search and rescue (SAR) operations from 2002, following the first steps in the retirement of military rescue operations. It operates a large fleet of Sikorsky S-76 helicopters from six bases throughout Sweden – five SAR stations and one EMS (ambulance) base. The company, which has its main office in Gothenburg, employs a staff of approx. 120 persons.

Reproduced from Nordic Rotors with permission. Copyright and full responsibility for the content of this article remains with Nordic Rotors