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LifeFlight is set to open a massive new base on the Sunshine Coast following record funding from the Queensland government.
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The aeromedical charity will receive $586.1 million over the next decade, including $18.3 million for a newly-built for-purpose hangar at Sunshine Coast Airport’s new Aerospace Precinct, which LifeFlight says is the most significant regional infrastructure project in its 44-year history and capable of housing two AW139 rescue helicopters and one Challenger 604 Air Ambulance jet.
“When completed, this base will give us the flexibility to accommodate various combinations of aircraft from the LifeFlight fleet, depending on the needs of the state’s aeromedical network. It may be two choppers and a jet; it might be multiple helicopters,” said LifeFlight CEO Ashley van de Velde OAM.
Sunshine Coast Airport has offered “generous terms” on a parcel of land big enough to build the base, with room for expansion into the future.
The hub will include crew accommodation, larger engineering areas, direct ambulance access to the hangar, more space for support and admin staff, and a visitor centre to help LifeFlight better engage with the community. Construction will begin in late 2024 following a tender process, and is expected to take around 11 months.
LifeFlight has moved to significantly expand its Queensland infrastructure in recent months, including a new $3.4 million base at Roma in the Maranoa region and a larger base maintenance facility at Archerfield Airport in Brisbane.
“Being able to operate from these new heavy maintenance facilities, to be constructed by the Archerfield Airport Corporation, will deliver the modern and efficient maintenance operation that will be needed to support the growing demand for the aeromedical services required of LifeFlight by the Government,” said van de Velde.
The Archerfield hangar, expected to begin work in July and be completed by early next year, will allow the aeromedical charity to double its current base maintenance capacity and will form the “epicentre” of the organisation’s engineering activities in Queensland.
