NEW jobs are set to be created at Humberside Airport after a significant contract was awarded.
Bond Offshore Helicopters Ltd, one of the UK's leading providers of energy support services, has been awarded a new contract with Perenco Oil And Gas and has begun operating from Humberside Airport this week.
The new deal, worth in the region of £37-million, is for the provision of crew change flights to Perenco's newly-acquired assets in the Southern North Sea and it is expected up to 15 new posts will be created at the airport.
Paul Litten, Humberside Airport's head of business development, said the launch of the new service now means the airport has three different operators servicing the requirements of the offshore industry in the Southern North Sea.
Mr Litten said: "We are delighted Bond has come to Humberside Airport.
"It is a significant investment and it means the airport continues to grow in importance for the offshore gas industry, which is a major employer locally.
"We will now have three of the biggest UK helicopter operators based at the airport."
Bond Offshore Helicopters, which specialises in providing offshore helicopter transportation services, will invest in a new office facility at the airport, which acts as a key piece of infrastructure for the gas industry.
According to Mr Litten, this focus on offshore workers has been key to the airport's growth.
Mr Litten said: "Humberside Airport is ideally located and we now have three large helicopter operators, which gives the offshore industry a great level of activity."
The airport's heliport sees about 1,000 helicopter flights carrying workers to and from the North Sea offshore gas platforms every single month.
Mr Litten said: "We are seeing a growth in almost 1,000 helicopter movements a month, so it is a really important part of the business."
Luke Farajallah, managing director of Bond Offshore Helicopters, said: "This will be our first aircraft operating out of Humberside Airport and we very much look forward to further growth.
"This is an exciting new win for us."
