Sweden’s oldest active helicopter company, Lapplandsflyg, has decided to retire. The flight operations will be terminated this summer, and its business will be permanently closed. The shut-down includes the summer bases in Kvikkjokk and Hemavan/Ammarnäs, together with the shuttle routes between Hemavan-Ammarnäs and Ritsem-Staloluokta-Kvikkjokk as well. The routes will be inherited by other companies and the new operators will be published on Lapplandsflyg’s website.

Lapplandsflyg was founded by the legendary pilot Bertil Johansson in Porjus in the early-50s. It was the second helicopter company in Sweden after Ostermans Aero AB. The company has operated ambulance helicopters in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Västervik and Sälen throughout the years. It has also assisted the Swedish National Police in their operations. The company moved to its newly built main base at UmeÃ¥ Airport in 1965. Each summer the whole fleet moves from UmeÃ¥ to the Swedish mountain world – with bases in Kvikkjokk and Hemavan/Ammarnäs. Lapplandsflyg’s main business is tourism, reindeer mustering and various aerial works. It has got a fleet of five helicopters – two Long Rangers and three Jet Rangers.