AUSTRALIA'S LLOYD Helicopter Group has won an A$38 million ($30 million) contract to operate Victoria's police and ambulance helicopter service. Lloyd will take over ownership and maintenance of four aircraft based at Melbourne's Essendon Airport. The helicopters will continue to be flown by police crews.
Victoria's police and emergency-services minister Bill McGrath says that the helicopter service has been privatised to ensure that the police have continued access to modern aircraft. The police air-wing, now operates three twin-turbine Eurocopter Dauphins and a single-turbine Eurocopter Ecureil. The Dauphins, built in 1979, are in need of replacement.
"The contract therefore provides that new replacement helicopters will be phased in by the Lloyd Group over a period of time and to specifications determined by the police and ambulance services," says McGrath.
In the short term, the helicopters will continue to be based at Essenden, but Lloyd, which is the largest civil-helicopter operator in Australia, has plans to develop a major heliport for police and commercial use in Melbourne's central-dockland area.
Source: Flight International
