Coast Guard helicopter crew appeals for clarity amid 'uncertainty' over transfer of services

A spokesperson for Bristow Ireland confirmed to the Irish Examiner that a date for the Sligo base transition was 'being finalised'.

One of the country’s four Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter crews has made a public plea to find out what is happening to their rescue service on Friday.    

The crew of Rescue 118, based in Sligo Airport, took the highly unusual step this week of publicly appealing for information online as the deadline for their transfer of services from current helicopter contractor CHC Ireland to Bristow Ireland looms within the next 24 hours.

“The crew of Rescue 118, based in Sligo Airport, are seeking information on when they will transfer from CHC Ireland to Bristow Ireland,” they posted in a statement on social media.

The crew of Shannon based Rescue 115 transferred over in December after a number of delays and now only provide a 08:00-20:00 day-only service.

"Sligo is now facing those same delays and uncertainty as to when and what service will be provided by Bristow Ireland,” they said.

Other rescue crews supported their calls for clarity, with Rescue 115 describing the situation as "crazy".

“Our thoughts are with our brothers and sisters in Rescue 118 crew who find themselves in a crazy position not knowing who they will be employed by in three days. Safety has to be the priority and a distraction of this magnitude is of serious concern,” they said.

Meanwhile, Rescue 116 based in Dublin wrote it was “worrying news from the West of Ireland”. 

 “The remaining two bases on the East Coast are now facing into this uncertainty in the near future, with little or no reliable information coming their way. How this has been handled up to now has created concern, uncertainty and distraction throughout the bases, which is never a good thing in any aviation business, but especially in SAR [search and rescue].” 

A 10-year €800m contract was awarded to Bristow Ireland by the Department of Transport in August 2023 to provide “year-round, day and night” search and rescue helicopter services from Dublin, Shannon, Sligo and Waterford, according to a Government press release in February 2024.

Bristow also announced its contract with the Irish Government was for “nationwide all-weather 24-hour coverage, 365 days a year”. 

Despite this, Rescue 115, which transferred to Bristow Ireland last December, is currently only providing a 12-hour service from 8am-8pm. Rescue 118 has been providing coverage for the south outside of those hours in the meantime.

Sligo/Leitrim TD Frank Feighan this week asked the Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien when Bristow Ireland would start its operations in Sligo and if there were any delays in relation to the agreed start-up date of February 14.

He was told by Mr O’Brien on Wednesday that arrangements for the start of Bristow’s new service were “well under way.” 

A definitive date for the transition to Bristow was still “being finalised between the outgoing contractor (CHCI) and Bristow Ireland with arrangements for base handover at an advanced stage.” 

Reaction from the coastguard community online was scathing in its criticism of the Department of Transport and the Irish Coast Guard among others, with many family members claiming crews had been “kept in the dark” and the way they were being treated was “nothing short of deplorable.” 

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A spokesperson for Bristow Ireland confirmed to the Irish Examiner that a date for the Sligo base transition was “being finalised”.

The Department of Transport has been contacted for comment.