RFDS wins NSW Air Ambulance contract

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) South Eastern Section has been awarded a contract to continue operating fixed-wing patient retrievals on behalf of the Ambulance Service of New South Wales.

Under the new agreement which runs to 2021, the RFDS will provide aircraft, crew and engineers for NSW Ambulance. The RFDS currently operates four Beechcraft King Air 200s as air ambulances, with two larger King Air 350s to enter the fleet from 2012.

“We could not be happier with today’s outcome, and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the Ambulance Service of NSW on the delivery of this vital service to rural, regional and remote residents,” said RFDS South Eastern Section executive director Clyde Thomson.

The win is a boost for the RFDS, which recently lost its air ambulance contract with the Victorian government to a bid by Regional Express subsidiary Pel-Air. Pel-Air is understood to have also placed a bid for the NSW contract.