LSE: BAB FTSE 250 component | |
Industry | Aviation |
Predecessor | Bond Aviation Group |
Founder | Peter Bond, Stephen Bond |
Headquarters | Gloucestershire Airport, Staverton, Gloucestershire , England |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Hayley Belmore, Managing Director David Lockwood, Group CEO |
Parent | Babcock International |
Website | www |
Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore, formerly Bond Air Services ( Bond Aviation Group ), is an operator of air ambulance, police, and offshore windfarm helicopters in the UK. Babcock operates a mixed fleet of light twin-engine helicopters custom designed to perform specific and specialised tasks. It operates from 17 bases around the UK. It has base maintenance facilities in Staverton and Glasgow.
Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore has headquarters at Gloucestershire Airport, Staverton, Gloucestershire, which is also home to their training facilities.
The primary business of Babcock is the provision of an Air Operators Certificate service to end users, including turn-key packages delivering aircraft, pilots, engineers and service support in support of emergency services. This is delivered with their fleet of Airbus (formerly Eurocopter) aircraft.
Babcock works in partnership with customers and aircraft manufacturers, providing bespoke design and completion services under Part21G/J approvals. This creates bespoke aircraft and accessories designed for specialised and mission-critical roles – from transporting infants to operating on live high-voltage wires.
Their training facility includes an EC135 training simulator (Level III FTD) [1] at Staverton, providing in-house training and external training.
In 2013 Babcock provided the first UK night helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) utilising Night Vision Imaging Systems with East Anglian Air Ambulance. [2]
In 2014, they were contracted by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) to upgrade seven EC135 T2 helicopters with new camera and mission systems technologies.
In 2015, Babcock took delivery of a Eurocopter EC145, ordered the previous year for use with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. [3] They have since taken delivery of another two H145's for the Scottish Ambulance Service. Others have since entered service with East Anglian Air Ambulance and Midlands Air Ambulance. In 2018, they began operating the Airbus Helicopters H135 T3+. [4]
In 2018, they were contracted by Western Power Distribution to upgrade five EC135 helicopters with new mission systems, infrared camera equipment, laser scanning devices and a reconfigured crew workspace. [5]
In 2021, Babcock became the first UK HEMS provider to offer a 24/7 helicopter service to East Anglian Air Ambulance, [6] and later in the same year offering it to Wales Air Ambulance's Cardiff based helicopter. [7]
Babcock operates a number of helicopters, including air ambulances around the UK and two police support helicopters for Police Scotland, also offering helicopter support for the renewables industry. [8]
Babcock currently provides turn-key helicopter operations for these customers:
In 2014, it was announced that Prince William, Duke of Cambridge would take on a full-time role as a pilot with Bond Air Services based at Cambridge Airport. [16] Although a qualified military pilot able to operate as a Sea King captain, William needed a civilian commercial pilot's licence and further training before starting operations for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The Duke started operational flights on 13 July 2015 and continued until 2017. His salary was donated to charity.
The Airbus Helicopters H135 is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with a digital automatic flight control system (AFCS). First flying in February 1994, it entered service in 1996. 1,400 have been delivered up to September 2020, to 300 operators in 60 countries, accumulating over 5 million flight hours. It is mainly used for air medical transport (medevac), corporate transport, law enforcement, offshore wind support, and military flight training. Half of them are in Europe and a quarter in North America. The H135M, certified under the name Eurocopter EC635, is a military variant, so the overall design is known as the Airbus Helicopters H135 and the military version, as the Airbus Helicopters H135M. The EC135/H135 is a development of the earlier Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) Bo 105.
Gloucestershire Airport, formerly Staverton Airport, is a small airport at Churchdown, England. It lies 3.5 nautical miles west of Cheltenham, near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway. Its operator claims it to be Gloucestershire's largest general aviation airfield, and it is regularly used for private charter flights to destinations such as Jersey and Guernsey.
British International Helicopter Services (BIH), owned by Bristow Group, is a British-owned helicopter operator. It operates a fleet of ten helicopters covering search and rescue, offshore, defence, charter and flying training activities from its bases at Newquay Airport, Coventry Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.
The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.
The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, now part of Leonardo. It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, military use, offshore transport, firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.
The Devon Air Ambulance Trust (DAAT) is a charity providing emergency medical services through the provision of two helicopter-based air ambulances and two critical care cars, which cover the county of Devon in South West England. The helicopters and cars are owned and operated by the charity, which raises money from public donations and its charity shops around £11.9 million every year.
Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom provide emergency medical functions, patient transport between specialist centres, or medical repatriation. Services are provided by a mixture of organisations, operating either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft. All emergency air ambulance helicopters in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are operated by charities, while Scotland has one charity service in addition to its two NHS-funded helicopters. Fixed-wing air ambulances, used for patient transport, may be government or privately operated. Air ambulance helicopters are complemented by Coastguard SAR helicopters.
Police aviation in United Kingdom provides British police forces with an aerial support unit to assist them in pursuit, surveillance and tracking. All police aviation in England and Wales comes under the National Police Air Service (NPAS), while Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland operate independent units.
The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), formerly County Air Ambulance, is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. It operates three aircraft.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is an air ambulance providing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) across the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The appeal to fund the service was launched in the summer of 2000 by top jockey Frankie Dettori, who had been injured in a serious plane crash in June of that year. When flying commenced in January 2001, the service was initially available only one day a week. The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates two helicopters, 365 days a year, from its bases at Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport, covering over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2) and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
Glasgow City Heliport is a heliport located in Glasgow, Scotland. The Heliport is located at Linthouse Road in Govan, close to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Offshore Helicopter Services (OHS), previously known as Babcock MCS Offshore and Bond Offshore Helicopters, is a British helicopter operator, specialising in providing offshore helicopter transportation services to North Sea offshore platforms
Bond Aviation Group was a British helicopter operator based at Gloucestershire Airport, Staverton. It was purchased by Babcock International in 2014. It incorporated Bond Air Services, now renamed Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore, and Bond Offshore Helicopters, now renamed Babcock Mission Critical Services Offshore.
North West Air Ambulance is the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) that covers the North West England region, consisting of the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) serving Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas of England. The service was launched in 1990, and since 2015 has been run by Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, a registered charity.
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.
The AgustaWestland AW169 is a twin-engine, 10-seat, 4.8t helicopter developed and manufactured by the helicopter division of Leonardo. It was designed to share similarities with the larger AgustaWestland AW139 and AgustaWestland AW189.
The Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, known as Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) or, is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured in Wales. It is an independent charity that relies on charitable donations to supply and maintain a fleet of emergency aircraft and rapid response vehicles.
Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) is a registered charity which assists the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) with emergency medical services through the provision of helicopter-based air ambulances.
The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) is a charity air ambulance service in South West England. It operates for the relief of sickness and injury, with a specialist paramedic in critical care and a critical care doctor, providing response by helicopter or car between the hours of 7:00 am and 1:00 am, 365 days a year. The service covers Bristol, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, and surrounding areas.
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