New Air Ambulance Helicopter Boosts Emergency Care in Hawke’s Bay

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the new Airbus H145 D3, operated in Hawke’s Bay by Search and Rescue Services Limited, is the eighth new or near-new helicopter to enter service since early 2024.

Hawke's Bay residents will have access to a newer and more capable emergency helicopter as part of a nationwide programme to replace New Zealand's ageing air ambulance fleet, giving medical teams improved equipment for responding to serious emergencies across the region.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the new Airbus H145 D3, operated in Hawke's Bay by Search and Rescue Services Limited, is the eighth new or near-new helicopter to enter service since early 2024. Newer aircraft are already operating in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Greater Wellington, Nelson and Tasman, Canterbury and the West Coast.

The rollout follows concerns about the age of New Zealand's emergency helicopter fleet, which Costello said was the oldest in the developed world in 2024. The Government invested $27.3 million across 2024 and 2025 to support air ambulance operators in replacing older aircraft, with 16 newer helicopters planned under the wider upgrade.

New aircraft brings stronger emergency capabilities

The Airbus H145 D3 offers improved automation and stronger performance in difficult operating conditions, while its medical configuration gives crews greater capability when treating seriously ill or injured patients during flights.

Emergency helicopters often operate in situations where time, distance and terrain make road transport difficult or too slow, particularly for people living in rural and remote communities. A more modern aircraft can give crews greater reliability in challenging weather while reducing some of the operational limitations associated with an ageing fleet.

The Government says the replacement helicopters offer improved safety, greater fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs, alongside better operational performance. Increased reliability is particularly important for an air ambulance service where an aircraft may need to respond quickly to emergencies across large geographical areas.

Hawke's Bay patients gain improved access to urgent care

The new helicopter will support patients facing life-threatening medical conditions and serious injuries, including people in locations that cannot be reached quickly by road ambulance. It will also be used when critically ill patients need to be transferred between hospitals with specialist intensive care teams accompanying them.

For Hawke's Bay, where communities are spread across urban, regional and rural areas, air ambulance services can provide an important connection between patients and specialist hospital care. Faster access to medical teams and suitable treatment facilities can be critical when patients are dealing with severe trauma or other time-sensitive conditions.

Costello said air ambulance helicopters have an especially important role in remote, rural and regional parts of New Zealand, where the distance to specialist healthcare can make emergency transport more complicated. The new Hawke's Bay aircraft is expected to give flight and medical crews a more capable platform for carrying out those missions.

Nationwide helicopter replacement programme continues

Hawke's Bay is one part of a broader fleet renewal that will continue into 2027, with another eight replacement helicopters expected to begin operating by June next year. Those aircraft will serve remaining areas of the North Island as well as Christchurch, completing another major stage of the national upgrade.

The programme is intended to replace 16 ageing helicopters in total, creating a newer air ambulance fleet with more consistent safety, reliability and performance across different regions.

The investment also supports the pilots, paramedics, doctors, nurses and other specialists who work in the air ambulance system, often responding to patients in difficult locations and under demanding conditions. Modern aircraft cannot remove every challenge involved in emergency medicine, but improved reliability, better bad-weather capability and enhanced patient-care facilities can give crews stronger tools when minutes matter.