With the resumption of EC225 commercial flights by BHS Helicopter, OMNI and Aeróleo Taxi Aéreo in Brazil, all operators using this Eurocopter helicopter around the globe have now reinstated service.

The EC225 oil and gas fleet’s return-to-service began in July 2013 in Angola, and now has been completed with all three Brazilian operators back in crew change operations for Petrobras.

These companies join other oil and gas industry operators in restoring EC225 missions: CHC Helicopter, Bristow, Bond, Sonair, Blueway DanCopter, Era, and MHS Aviation Berhad. Collectively, they cover the world’s major regions for offshore heli-lift for the energy sector – from the North Sea and Asia to Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and South America.

“Our teams remain totally committed to supporting our customers as they regain the full availability of their helicopters worldwide,” said Guillaume Faury, Eurocopter’s President & CEO. “The EC225 has been the industry’s most examined aircraft, and we are proud to have it back as a key player in the oil and gas sector – continuing to safely accompany our customers in their challenging missions.”

The EC225’s return-to-service is continuing according to plan, as more than 75 percent of the fleet used globally for oil and gas duties is now flying, including eight EC225s that continued without interruption in Vietnam and China. As a result, more than 85 percent of the worldwide EC225/725 fleet is now in service – representing a total of 144 aircraft, which encompasses those used for oil and gas missions as well as other operations.

Eurocopter developed preventative safety measures that were approved by airworthiness authorities for the return-to-service, and the company has equally undertaken a main gear box shaft redesign for retrofit on the entire EC225 fleet starting from the second half of 2014.

The EC225 is an 11-ton-class rotorcraft in Eurocopter’s Super Puma family. With more than 300,000 total flight hours logged to date, it is deployed in civil, military and parapublic operations that range from offshore transportation and cargo airlift to search and rescue duties.

Globally, the Super Puma family accumulated more than 4,8 million flight hours to date and is operated by some 100 customers for a wide range of missions, often in very difficult conditions.