Metro Aviation signs purchase deal for 12 Airbus H140s
Metro Aviation, the air medical and completions company, has signed a purchase agreement for 12 Airbus H140s, which will be available for purchase and completion at Metro’s facilities.
The company is scheduled to receive the first two US deliveries of the H140 in 2029. Metro said it had been partnering with Airbus since early 2020 on the development of this next-generation aircraft, ensuring that the unique requirements of air medical operators are incorporated from the outset.
According to the manufacturer, the H140 is designed with a large cabin space, large windows and an optimized layout that can accommodate intensive-care stretchers and transport incubators, while its large sliding doors and rear loading capability support accessibility of patients and medical teams. The aircraft’s five-blade, bearingless main rotor, T-shaped tail boom with Fenestron and the Helionix avionics system are said to bring performance, safety and operational efficiency to the mission-ready platform.
In placing this fleet order, Metro is ensuring its customers gain access to a platform that is mission-capable andsuited for EMS interior configurations, said the company. Metro’s completion expertise will ensure that each H140 is tailored for the air-medical mission with best-in-class design, compliance and performance, it added.
Metro Aviation also revealed it will be the first completion centre to offer an EMS-interior Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the new Airbus H160. “The H160 introduces a new chapter in Airbus’s rotorcraft line-up, positioned between the H145 and H175 in size and mission capacity,” said the company. “Its advanced design, featuring the Helionix avionics suite, Blue Edge rotor blades, a Fenestron tail and quieter operations, makes it uniquely suited for medical-evacuation environments where speed, situational awareness and reduced noise footprint matter.”
The company expects to have the H160 STC finalised before the end of first quarter of 2026.
