Bristow (Ire) Ltd., has been awarded the new Irish Coastguard search and rescue aviation (SAR) contract.
The contract will provide for the day and night-time operation of four helicopter bases including Sligo, alongside Shannon, Waterford and Dublin.
In addition to the helicopter service, the new Coast Guard aviation service will, for the first time, also include a fixed wing aircraft element.
Local Fine Gael TD, Frank Feighan has this afternoon welcomed the decision by government to award the 10-year contract worth more than €670m.
“There was much concern a numregarding the future of the service at Sligo and I am glad that those fears are put to rest with this announcement.
“I want to thank my colleague Hildegard Naughton alongside the Tánaiste and now Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar for ensuring my calls and efforts to secure Strandhill has a rescue base was secured.
“I want to thank Minister Jack Chambers for his role in providing funding for the new service provider contract and to the manager and board of Sligo Airport for all their efforts in bring the facilities up to the new standards required”, concluded Deputy Feighan.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.