The Department for Transport has announced that privately owned firm the Bristow Group will be taking over the running of the UKs search and rescue service which is currently operated by the RAF and Royal Navy.
From 2015 the company will take charge of what has been a 70 year long relationship with the armed forces.
The new deal is reported to be worth 1.6bn and will see Bristow replacing the ageing Sea King helicopters with brand new Sikorsky S-92s and AugustaWestland 189s.
Two AW189s will operate from the site at Lee-on-the-Solent with the remaining dotted around ten other UK locations.
As a maritime area Hayling Island and the surrounding coastal locations benefit massively from having this type of service on its doorstep. Providing an efficient life line for those in distress at sea the new service is set to improve on existing response times bringing this down from 23 to 19 seconds.
Bristows pilots are fully trained in helicopter rescue techniques and their website says more than 7000 people have already benefited from the groups expertise.
The company also operates in Netherlands Norway Trinidad and Tobago Australia Russia Brazil and Canada.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: Our search and rescue helicopter service plays a crucial role saving lives and providing assistance to people in distress on both land and on sea.
With 24 years of experience providing search and rescue helicopter services in the UK the public can have great confidence in Bristow and their ability to deliver a first class service with state-of-the-art helicopters.
