page_title: Norsk Luftambulanse
section_title: Acquisitions
hierarchical_section_title: Norsk Luftambulanse / History / Acquisitions
caption_attribution_description: Norwegian Ambulance Helicopter Eurocopter EC-135
context_page_description: Stiftelsen Norsk Luftambulanse is a Norwegian humanitarian organisation, organised as a non-profit foundation. It primarily promotes and operates helicopter air ambulance services. As of 2014, they operate seven Eurocopter EC135 and one EC145 helicopters out of seven bases in Norway, based on contracts with the state through the Norwegian Air Ambulance. In Denmark, they operate three EC135 out of three bases.
  The foundation carries out charitable work, including providing additional funding for all helicopter ambulances in Norway to increase their medical equipment. It also funds research within critical emergency medicine and operates a service to fly its members home in case of illness. With 706,000, it is the organization in Norway with the most members. Operations are carried out through the subsidiary Norsk Luftambulanse AS.
  Established in 1977 by Jens Moe, operations out of Lørenskog Heliport, Central Hospital started the following year. The services out of Stavanger commenced in 1981. The state funding started in 1988, after which NLA established the bases at Bergen and Trondheim. NLS later won contracts to operate out of Arendal, Ål, Dombås, and Førde.
context_section_description: Due to a strenuous cooperation with Air Express, NLA decided to establish a fixed-wing division in 1989. This included taking over the two aircraft at Kirkenes and the jet used for international flights at Oslo Airport, Fornebu. For this work NLA bought a Cessna Citation II, when they operated between 1989 and 1995.
  Førde Heliport, Central Hospital was established in 1992 and the contract was issued to Airlift. In 1993 there was a new contract tender, and Airlift won the operations out of Førde, Bergen and Dombås. Within NLA there was a debate as to whether to treat Airlift as a competitor or to cooperate with them. A deal was struck and NLA bought 34 percent of the company. Later it bought a further 32 percent, but later sold the shares again. In 1994 NLA lost the contract to operate fixed-wing aircraft in Kirkenes to Mørefly.
  The Easter bases spurred interest amongst locals in the interior valleys of Buskerud, Oppdal and Telemark to receive a permanent helicopter ambulance service. Political work started in 1992, but the Ministry of Social Affairs did not prioritize it in its 1994 budget. However, this resulted in a series of political initiatives from the area and when Parliament voted over the budget, grants had been allocated for Ål Heliport. Operations commenced on 1 September 1994. The same year NLA stationed a helicopter in Lillehammer for the duration of the 1994 Winter Olympics.
  The tender for operations after 2001 resulted in NLA losing the operating rights for Arendal, Ål and Dombås, while it won back the operations in Bergen. With the hospital reform which took effect 1 January 2002, the coordinating responsibility for hospitals was allocated to the five regional health authorities. They created the National Air Ambulance Service in 2004. GMS was moved to Ullevål University Hospital in Oslo in 2002. In March 2006 NLA the results of a new tender were announced. NLA kept its existing bases and was also awarded the contract for Arendal, Ål an Dombås from 2008 to 2014 or 2018.
  NLA bought the Swedish air ambulance operator SOS Flygambulans from SOS Alarm in May 2004 and renamed it Svensk Flygambulans. The subsidiary was based at Gothenburg City Airport and operated three fixed-wing aircraft. NLA saw it as a strategic move to expand its operations both geographically, as well as making them able to enter the fixed-wing market. NLA sold Svensk Flygambulans to Scandinavian Air Ambulance in August 2008.
  Central Hålogaland was the most densely populated district of Norway lacking a helicopter ambulance service. The National Air Ambulance Service therefore issued a tender in 2014 to establish a base at Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes. The tender was won by NLA, who started operations in May 2015. The base was manned with an EC145.
  Denmark introduced a trial with helicopter ambulances in 2011. After the trial period, they announced in October 2013 that NLA had won a six-year contract to operate the new national air ambulance service, with an option to expand the contract to nine years. If executed, the contract is worth one billion Danish krone. The contract was made with Regions Denmark, a cooperation between the five regions of Denmark.
caption: Norsk Luftambulanse operates Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters
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