Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore, formerly Bond Air Services (

Bond Aviation Group 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 ...

), is an operator of

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, 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 Gloucestershire Airport , formerly Staverton Airport, is a small airport at Churchdown, England. It lies west of Cheltenham, near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway. Its operator claims it to be Gloucestershire's largest ge ...

, Staverton, Gloucestershire, which is also home to their training facilities.

Services

Air Operations

The primary business of Babcock is the provision of an

Air Operators Certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in pla ...

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 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

(formerly Eurocopter) aircraft.

Design and Completions

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.

Air Training Organisation

Their training facility includes an EC135 training simulator (Level III FTD) at Staverton, providing in-house training and external training.

History

In 2013 Babcock provided the first UK night helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) utilising Night Vision Imaging Systems with

East Anglian Air Ambulance 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 t ...

. 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 The Eurocopter EC145 (now Airbus Helicopters H145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which ...

, ordered the previous year for use with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. They have since taken delivery of another two H145's for the Scottish Ambulance Service. Others have since entered service with

and

Midlands Air Ambulance 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. ...

. In 2018, they began operating the Airbus Helicopters H135 T3+. In 2018, they were contracted by

Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution was the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West (operating in South West England), WPD South Wales (in South Wales) and WPD Midlands (two companies, in the E ...

to upgrade five EC135 helicopters with new mission systems, infrared camera equipment, laser scanning devices and a reconfigured crew workspace. In 2021, Babcock became the first UK HEMS provider to offer a 24/7 helicopter service to East Anglian Air Ambulance, and later in the same year offering it to Wales Air Ambulance's Cardiff based helicopter.

Customers

Babcock operates a number of helicopters, including air ambulances around the UK and two police support helicopters for

Police Scotland Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...

, also offering helicopter support for the renewables industry.

Current Helicopter Operations

Babcock currently provides turn-key helicopter operations for these customers: *

(2011–Present) *

North West Air Ambulance 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. History The charity has ex ...

(1999–Present) *

(1990–Present) * Great Western Air Ambulance (2008–Present) *

(2013–Present) * Scottish Charity Air Ambulance (2010–Present) *

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is an Air medical services, air ambulance service serving the counties of Hampshire and Isle of Wight in South East England. It is one of a number of Air ambulances in the United Kingdom, air ambula ...

(2007–Present)_ *

Wales Air Ambulance The Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth Elusennol Ambiwlans Awyr Cymru), known as Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) or ( cy, Elusen Ambiwlans Awyr Cymru (EAAC)), is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life- ...

(2001-2024)

Former Helicopter Operations

Scottish Ambulance Service The Scottish Ambulance Service ( gd, Seirbheis Ambaileans na h-Alba) 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 ...

(1990's-2020) *

Air Ambulance Northern Ireland Air Ambulance Northern Ireland (AANI) also known as Air Ambulance NI is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma and medical emergencies in Northern Ireland. In ...

(2015-2022) *

Thames Valley Air Ambulance The Thames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA), previously the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance, is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of a helicopter-based air ambulance covering the counties of Berkshir ...

(2011-2022) * Ørsted Walney Wind Farm Extension (2018-2021) * PSE

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

Oil Platform Support (2015-2020) * SSE

Greater Gabbard Wind Farm Greater Gabbard is a 504 MW wind farm, built on sandbanks off the coast of Suffolk in England at a cost of £1.5 billion. It was completed on 7 September 2012 with all of the Siemens SWT3.6–107 turbines connected. Developed as a ...

Support (2013-?) G-SPHU pict-1

Prince William

In 2014, it was announced that

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

would take on a full-time role as a pilot with Bond Air Services based at Cambridge Airport. 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.

Incidents

* On 29 November 2013, G-SPAO, an EC135-T2+ operated by Bond Air Services on behalf of Police Scotland,

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

through the roof of the Clutha Vaults pub in Glasgow, killing all three people on board and seven in the building, and injuring 31 people. * On 4 May 2020, G-SASS, an EC145-D2 operated by Babcock on behalf of Scottish Ambulance Service partially lifted the roof of a nearby caravan with its downwash on departure from the Isle of Arran.

References

External links

Babcock International Emergency Services
{{helicopter airlines Helicopter airlines Airlines of the United Kingdom Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom Police aviation units of the United Kingdom