This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21936093
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Helicopter search and rescue for Caernarfon, St Athan | Helicopter search and rescue for Caernarfon, St Athan |
(35 minutes later) | |
Helicopter search and rescue will move to Caernarfon from Anglesey and a new base will be set up at St Athan after a US-based firm won the contract to run the UK service. | Helicopter search and rescue will move to Caernarfon from Anglesey and a new base will be set up at St Athan after a US-based firm won the contract to run the UK service. |
The Bristow Group has won a 10-year contract from 2015. | The Bristow Group has won a 10-year contract from 2015. |
Under the deal, 22 helicopters will operate from 10 UK locations, including Caernarfon in north Wales and St Athan in the the south. | Under the deal, 22 helicopters will operate from 10 UK locations, including Caernarfon in north Wales and St Athan in the the south. |
The £1.6bn deal ends 70 years of search and rescue from the RAF and Royal Navy. | The £1.6bn deal ends 70 years of search and rescue from the RAF and Royal Navy. |
The contract will mean the end of search and rescue operations at RAF Valley on Anglesey. | The contract will mean the end of search and rescue operations at RAF Valley on Anglesey. |
Its base will be relocated to Caernarfon, though the RAF base will remain at Valley. | Its base will be relocated to Caernarfon, though the RAF base will remain at Valley. |
A new base will also be opened at MoD St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. Two helicopters will be based at both sites. | |
Aviation analyst Chris Yates said the two new Welsh bases would allow the service to provide extended coverage. | |
He told BBC Radio Wales: "Wales is doing extremely well out of it. There's some very difficult terrain right across the country, of course, and often at times people do get into difficulty. | |
"We've seen people rescued off Snowdonia recently and there's a whole chunk of the Irish Sea that helicopters based up in Caernarfon would operate out to in the event of a marine incident." | |
Anglesey MP Albert Owen described it as a "negative step". | |
He said a lot of money had been invested in making RAF Valley a centre of excellence for search and rescue, adding that the UK government was "doing this to save money - yet they are gambling with lives". | |
The UK government says they will be able to reach a larger area of the UK within one hour of take-off than is currently possible. | |
It also estimates, based on historic data, that there will be an overall improvement in flying times to incidents of around 20%, from 23 to 19 minutes. | |
Bristow's website says its helicopters and pilots have already rescued more than 7,000 people in the UK. | |
It also operates in the Netherlands, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Russia, Brazil and Canada. | |
The other current search and rescue (SAR) bases are Culdrose, Wattisham, Valley, Boulmer, Portland, Lee-on-Solent, Chivenor, Leconfield, Lossiemouth and Prestwick. |