Midlands Air Ambulance new helicopter enters service

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s new Airbus Helicopters EC135 T2e enters service.

Airbus Helicopters EC135 T2e (Photo: Midlands Air Ambulance Charity).

Midlands Air Ambulance, a UK charity, introduced a new EC135 T2e, built by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), to its helicopter fleet at an event held at its base at RAF Cosford, located between Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Hanna Sebright, chief executive of Midland Air Ambulance Charity, said: “This is a momentous milestone in Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s 23 year history.”

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“Our new EC135 T2e will help us to save more lives, as it provides the opportunity to expand our service and deliver the best possible patient care to those we airlift. Its acquisition was entirely funded through public donations, underscoring the incredible support our vital life-saving service receives from local Midlands’ communities and businesses,” added Sebright.

Markus Steinke, managing director of Airbus Helicopters UK, said: “Midlands Air Ambulances Charity’s selection of the EC135 T2e is another strong endorsement for the EC135 in the United Kingdom and for emergency medical airlift operations in particular.”

“It joins a fleet of 50 EC135 serving as the nation’s backbone of the national resilience fleet tasked with highly demanding missions in search, surveillance, casualty evacuation and crime prevention,” Steinke added.

The new EC135 enables an extension of Midlands Air Ambulance’s services beyond the current daylight operations. The new helicopter is fully-owned by the charity.

Based at the Royal Air Force base in Cosford, Shropshire, the EC135 T2e will be maintained and operated by Bond Air Services, which also leases and operates two other EC135s to Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

Around 500 EC135s are currently operated as air ambulance helicopters around the world.