Bristow Ireland Limited (BIL), the new operator of the Irish Coast Guard’s search and rescue aviation service, has commenced operations from Shannon Airport.
Bristow Ireland, a Bristow Group Inc subsidiary, was confirmed last year as the preferred bidder for the contract to provide the new Search and Rescue (SAR) Aviation Contract for the Department of Transport and Irish Coast Guard. The contract is for a period of 10 years and worth €800m.
The iconic callsign, Rescue 115, has moved not only to a new helicopter but also from one operator to another.
As part of an ongoing transition process, staff from the current service provider, CHC Ireland (CHCI), continue to migrate to the new Bristow Ireland. CHCI’s contract expires on June 30th 2025 by which time, BIL’s transition process should be complete and all four bases taken over.
Bristow Ireland was due to put its first helicopter into operational service at Shannon Airport on October 31st but they missed that deadline which meant the CHCI bridged a gap and continued to operate the Rescue 115 service from Shannon.
BIL transition crews continued to undertake training operations with RNLI lifeboats and other agencies during November. It was during one training mission last month that a Bristow transition crew member suffered an injury during a winching operation with a vessel off Mayo. It’s understood that the crew member suffered a knee injury during the exercise.
Meanwhile, a second deadline of December 1st was also missed so CHCI remained in place to maintain search and rescue (SAR) and helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) cover from Shannon.
After remaining in place several weeks longer than expected, CHC Ireland ceased operations at the SAR base in Shannon at midnight last night. The Rescue 115 callsign has now moved from CHC’s Sikorsky S92 to Bristow Ireland’s smaller Leonardo/AW 189 series helicopter.
There had been claims that the process was rushed and that there was little chance that the new operator would meet its deadline of October 31st. The company had experienced issues with the new helicopter which had remained grounded at Weston Airport in Dublin or at Shannon Airport for days at a time.
In October, the company confirmed that they had “resolved some minor issues” as it continued preparations to ‘go live’ from the Shannon based on October 31st.
The company said at the time: “The first AW189 helicopter to arrive in Ireland is the focus of continued familiarisation and engineering, preparing it to become the first of a new fleet of six to carry our SAR duties on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard. With a hugely complex aircraft, safety is always our highest priority, and working closely with Leonardo, we have resolved some minor issues, it is currently flying in support of our training programme.
After the October 31st deadline passed, CHC Ireland crews remained in place at Shannon to maintain a continuation of service.
Bristow Ireland said at the time: “CHCI will continue to be available to operate from Shannon alongside Bristow Ireland teams throughout November as part of the phased transition period, after which the new Bristow Ireland AW189 helicopter will assume full responsibility for operational taskings.”
“The Shannon base will the first of four to start operations under the new contract. Bristow Ireland has received its Part 145 Line Maintenance approval from the IAA which allows the engineering team to fully support the helicopter in Shannon.
Bristow will operate a fleet of six specialist Leonardo AW189 helicopters the first of which arrived in Ireland from Gosport in South East England in August. The new SAR contract will see Bristow Ireland operate from the current bases at Shannon (Rescue 115), Sligo (Rescue 118) and Waterford (Rescue 117). The Rescue 116 base will move from Dublin Airport to Weston Airport on the Dublin/Kildare border.
A second AW189 helicopter has since arrived in Ireland where it has been conducting training operations from Shannon Airport. The Bristow helicopters and their crews are currently operating from another company’s hangar at Shannon Airport.
As part of the ongoing training and familiarisation programme, the helicopter continues to visit sites around the country undertaking exercises with Irish Coast Guard volunteers as well as offshore with RNLI lifeboats and cargo vessels.
When asked about issues surrounding the timely delivery of services by Bristow Ireland, a Department of Transport spokesperson said: “The new Coast Guard aviation service contract becomes fully operational on 1 July 2025, when Bristow Ireland Limited (BIL) completes the acceptance of all four bases from the incumbent contractor, CHCI.
The existing contract with CHCI expires on 30 June 2025. The transfer of responsibility of each of the four SAR bases (Shannon, Sligo, Waterford, Dublin) will be conducted on a phased basis in line with the contracts the Department has with each of the service providers. At all times the transition process has operational safety as its overarching priority.
BIL has advised that following collaborative discussions and agreement with CHCI, the transition process at the Shannon base commenced on 31 October with the permanent transfer of a number of CHCI personnel to BIL. The transfer of full operational responsibility of the Shannon Base is expected to be concluded by end-November. This arrangement will allow for an orderly and seamless completion of transition tasks by the contractors and other key stakeholders. Ultimately, all four bases will complete full transition by 1 July 2025 as envisioned under the contract, in addition to the establishment of a Shannon based Fixed Wing aircraft service from early 2025.
The Department welcomes the collaborative approach taken by both commercial operators to ensure the safe, sustainable delivery of a complex SAR operations during the transition of the Shannon base. A number of CHCI Shannon based personnel transferred to Bristow on 31 October as planned and this formally initiated the transfer of responsibility process envisaged under the contracts that the Department has with the two Contractors,” the department spokesperson said.
“In light of ongoing legal proceedings, initiated by CHCI, it would not be appropriate for the Department to make any further comment at this time; other than to welcome the collaborative approach taken by both the incumbent, CHCI and the new service provider, BIL, to ensure the safe, orderly, seamless and sustainable delivery of complex SAR operations during the transition of the Shannon base and the Department expects that this will continue up and until all bases have completed transition to the new contract,” the spokesperson added.
*Some images of CHC Ireland’s Sikorsky S92 helicopters in action on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard.
Following the ‘go-live’ milestone, a spokesperson for Bristow Ireland said: “Declaring ‘go-live’ is the culmination of years of work, and we are enormously proud of everyone who has contributed at Bristow Ireland, and across the Bristow global family, to developing what will be a new era of search and rescue for the people of Ireland.
Since the contract was awarded to Bristow Ireland in 2023, teams have been working to ensure every element is in place for the phased transition to progress.
The Shannon Airport SAR base is the first of four across the country to start operations, together with a new fleet of six advanced SAR-configured helicopters they will help Bristow Ireland deliver a life-saving service as the phased transition to the new contract continues through to mid-2025.”
“Getting to this stage is the culmination of years of work,” said Director Irish SAR, Philip Bartlett. “ Hitting ‘go-live’ is a tremendous acknowledgement of the effort everyone has put in. It signals a historic moment for Bristow Ireland and an important chapter in emergency response for the people of Ireland.
Over recent weeks the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has awarded Bristow Ireland the required approvals for specialist flight operations, engineering, training and SAR activities which will ensure the teams continue to operate to the highest standards.
Meanwhile, framework agreements with trade unions will support the continued transition of specialist helicopter pilots and engineers to Bristow Ireland, allowing them to develop new skills and capabilities and to continue their work with a new, modern aircraft fleet and in new facilities.
Simultaneously, new aircraft and equipment are being procured, modified and tested, and detailed training programmes activated to ensure a seamless transition to the new service.
