6 March, 2019: Airbus Helicopters has been contracted to provide support and maintenance services to National Police Air Service (NPAS) of the United Kingdom. The NPAS has a fleet of 19 helicopters out of which 15 are Airbus EC135 and four are EC145 and Airbus Helicopters will be providing its services to all of them.
According to the five-year contract which will begin in October 2019, Airbus will provide NPAS with a package of services which includes maintenance of aircraft and mission system equipment, continuing airworthiness management, the supply of spare parts and engine support.
The contract also consists of an option to modify the aircraft and mission systems where previously it had to be tendered separately under procurement regulations. This follows a contract that was signed earlier by the company in 2014.
Airbus Helicopters UK Managing Director, Colin James said, “The national infrastructure that we have developed together with NPAS to support its ever more demanding requirements is absolutely unique worldwide in its capability, throughput and efficiency. We take great pleasure in this opportunity to continue our journey with NPAS in the coming years, and to making our contribution to the UK’s security.”
Steph McKenzie, Head of Technical Services at NPAS said, “Following a tendering process, we have selected Airbus Helicopters UK as our preferred aircraft maintenance contractor for the next five years. We believe their expertise, and heritage of more than 30 years’ involvement in UK police aviation, is ideal for providing engineering support for our fleet. Our aircraft will collectively be used for around 20,000 tasks every year, as requested by all police forces in England and Wales.”