A maintenance base for helicopters has just opened at Toulouse-Blagnac airport. It will be used in particular to carry out the maintenance of the two helicopters of the SAMU of Toulouse.
A maintenance center for helicopters was inaugurated on May 11 at Toulouse-Blagnac airport. It belongs to the company SAF Industries, soon Aero Support Force, based in Savoie and specialized in aeronautical maintenance. This new base, operational since March 8, is in addition to the two others that the company has in France, in Albertville and Paris. The new maintenance center located near the Business Aviation Terminal (known as Blagnac 1) consists of a hangar with an area of 650 m2. It has two maintenance areas and a runway area where a helicopter can park before being put back into service.
The center will be responsible for carrying out the “major visits” which last between three and eight weeks
Small breakdowns and big visits
Thanks to the technicians and mechanics present on site, the maintenance base is authorized to carry out different types of operations on the helicopters produced by Airbus: the H135, H145 and AS350 Ecureuil. This ranges from repairs after a breakdown, to an unscheduled exchange of parts, to light periodic checks. The center will also be responsible for carrying out the “major visits” which last from three to eight weeks, and which are mandatory every 400 or 500 flight hours depending on the type of aircraft.
The two SAMU 31 helicopters on the roof of the Purpan hospital
The maintenance base manages the maintenance of helicopters from SAMU, Civil Security and the Irish company Milestone Aviation
From this base in Toulouse, SAF Industries will maintain the eight helicopters it owns. These are machines operated by the SAMU of Toulouse and several other cities in the south of France* which it rents with a pilot and a flight assistant. The company will also take care of the maintenance of two EC145 helicopters belonging to Civil Security. It will also manage the maintenance of several machines from the Irish company Milestone Aviation, the world leader in the rental of civil helicopters and a subsidiary of AerCap.
Increased availability
Before the opening of this base, the closest maintenance center to Toulouse was in Dax. This new location is therefore strategic. From now on, the availability of the SAMU helicopters managed by the company in the region will increase significantly. As explained by Alexandre Gaudry, the head of the new base, “our helicopters had to go to Albertville first, it took two hours of one-way flight from Toulouse. Today, the SAMU 31 helicopters, stationed in the Purpan Hospital Drop Zone, only need five minutes. This base therefore considerably reduces flight times. »
SAF Industries is part of SAF AEROGROUP, an international helicopter operating group established in Europe, the Indian Ocean and South Africa. It has more than 550 employees and operates 70 helicopters.