Yesterday Scandinavian Air Ambulance (SAA) signed an emergency medical helicopter contract with Region Jämtland-Härjedalen for the continued operation of the EMS helicopter in Östersund, Sweden. The region has agreed with SAA and its subsidiary Scandinavian MediCopter to replace its current AS 365 N2 Dauphin with a brand new AgustaWestland AW169 from early 2017. The contract itself is valid until December 2021.

The AgustaWestland AW169 is a new medium-sized twin-engine helicopter in the 4.5 tonne class. The type, which fills the gap between the AW109 and AW139 in the AgustaWestland family, made its first flight in 2012, and it obtained its EASA certification earlier this summer. Scandinavian MediCopter’s new helicopter is expected to be the first AW169 in the Nordic countries.

Jämtland County is a veteran in EMS helicopter operations, with a history of ad-hoc helicopter usage since the 1950s and a contracted helicopter service since January 1994. The regional HEMS alert is held at Göviken Heliport in downtown Östersund, and it has been covered by Dauphin-family helicopters since 1996.

Scandinavian AirAmbulance is a large Swedish company that operates a wide range of intensive-care airplanes and EMS helicopters in Scandinavia. It has nine helicopter bases, stretching from Gällivare, Lycksele, Stockholm, Uppsala, Visby and Östersund in Sweden to Kuopio, Rovaniemi and Uleåborg in Finland.

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