Oregon-based nonprofit air ambulance provider Life Flight Network will start operations in Hawaii later this year.
The organization announced plans in March to set up bases on Hawaii’s Big Island in collaboration with the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation, which provides equipment and training to the island’s fire department. Life Flight Network said Thursday that it will ramp up operations in the fall from bases at Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea, Kona Community Hospital in Kona, and Hilo International Airport (KITO).
Life Flight Network currently operates in and around the Pacific Northwest and provides ICU-level care during air and ground transport.
The organization said it will invest $27 million to support the Hawaii expansion, with the money going toward aircraft acquisition, medical equipment, and facilities. This comes in addition to $15 million the group received through the foundation to support the purchase of a new Airbus H145 helicopter, fully configured as an air ambulance.
“Our team has spent the past several months listening to and learning from community leaders, hospital partners, and public officials across Hawaii,” said Life Flight Network CEO Ben Clayton. “We’ve heard firsthand about the challenges patients face in accessing timely, high-quality emergency medical transportation. Our goal is to increase access, improve outcomes, and save lives.”
The network will station an Airbus EC135P2+ helicopter at both Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital and Kona Community Hospital. The aircraft will be replaced by Airbus H145s by mid-2026.
A Pilatus PC-12NG fixed-wing aircraft will be based at Hilo.
The three bases will support emergency transports between the hospitals and from the Big Island to Oahu.
Life Flight Network will also operate a separate Airbus H145D3 on behalf of the foundation.
Life Flight Network is the largest nonprofit air medical service in the U.S. It has bases in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and its service area encompasses about 15 million people.
