Warsaw, 4 January 2016 – Poland’s public air medical rescue operator LPR (SP ZOZ Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe) has received four new H135 (formerly known as EC135P3) helicopters to extend its Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operations in Poland. This latest delivery brings the total H135 LPR fleet to 27 units.
Prior to this on-time and on-quality delivery of four new H135s, an intensive technical acceptance process took place in December 2015 at Airbus Helicopters’ Donauwörth site in Germany. All helicopters were subsequently transferred to the main LPR base in Warsaw. The total fleet of 27 H135 helicopters is now fully operational with LPR, representing a major step in the modernization of the country’s helicopter-based medical evacuation services and making Poland one of the world’s largest users of this helicopter in its new-generation EMS configuration.
“Airbus Helicopters is committed to providing Poland with state-of-the-art and reliable helicopters to carry out emergency service duties” said Mickael Peru, Managing Director at Airbus Helicopters Polska. “We also ensure that these aircraft can be autonomously maintained in-country and in full accordance with the operator’s requirements. This latest delivery is yet another example of the excellent cooperation with our Polish customer and demonstrates once again our ability to fulfil all our contractual obligations”, he added.
The agreement for the delivery of four new H135 helicopters to LPR was signed on 4 August 2015, following a competitive public tender procedure won by Airbus Helicopters. The LPR fleet has an average availability rate of over 95 percent. All helicopters have been equipped according to the required specification including in between the sophisticated avionics, full NVG certification, and a fully equipped state of the art EMS cabin.
Airbus Helicopters has delivered nearly 1,200 helicopters of the H135-family to customers around the globe, which have logged more than 3 million flight hours. One-quarter of this total fleet is deployed for EMS duties.
LPR
In the present organizational structure of the Polish Medical Air Rescue, LPR (SP ZOZ Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe) was created in 2000, yet it is the heir to the traditions of the Polish pre- and postwar medical aviation. LPR performs tasks connected both with medicine and aviation: medical emergency, air transfer of patients between the hospitals, air transfer of patients from abroad to Poland, air transfer of patients to the hospitals outside Poland.
The Polish Medical Air Rescue operates from 17 bases in Poland. In each of them there is a helicopter medical emergency crew on duty, consisting of a pilot, paramedic/nurse and physician. Additionaly, it is on call with a plane medical emergency crew, which is stationed in a military zone of Warsaw-Ok?cie airport. The head office of the Polish Medical Air Rescue is located in Warsaw.
