Two Ornge ambulance helicopters serving Toronto have been grounded for upkeep after supply chain issues caused in part by U.S. tariffs resulted in maintenance delays.
In a statement to CTV News on Thursday, Ornge said one Toronto-based helicopter will be out of service until July 12, while a second one will not fly until July 18.
“During this time period, Ornge will activate the contingency plans in our deployment plan. These involve dispatching helicopters from other bases, supported by additional Ornge land ambulance resources in Toronto,” the statement read.
Ornge has helicopters in Sudbury, London and Ottawa.
A source told CTV News Toronto that staff were informed about the status of the two helicopters in a letter from Ornge’ chief aviation officer, Peter Cunnington.
In the letter, Cunnington said Orange has been experiencing “unusually high demand for maintenance” across its AW139 fleet and that the global supply chain delays “have caused significant extensions to maintenance timelines.”
It resulted in some aircraft being grounded for longer periods and the active fleet was utilized more, accelerating their maintenance schedule.
“Despite these challenges, our maintenance teams have been working tirelessly to meet operational demands. Unfortunately, setbacks related to supply issues from our primary vendors continue to impact our progress. Manufacturers have cited ongoing disruptions tied to raw material shortages caused by U.S. tariffs and the war in Ukraine,” the letter read.
Ornge indicated in its official statement that it was indeed seeing delays in helicopter parts.
“We also remain in regular contact with our helicopter manufacturer to ensure parts are delivered in as timely a fashion as possible and to mitigate any delays,” Ornge said.
“We remain committed to ensuring full helicopter air ambulance service as soon as possible.”
In a statement, Ema Popovic, a spokesperson for Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, highlighted the province’s $200 million investment to expand Ornge’s fleet.
“Ontario is proud to be home to world class emergency air ambulances services and our government will continue to ensure they have the tools they need to deliver critical care services to families across the province,” Popovic said.
She then directed all questions regarding helicopter repairs to Ornge.
CTV aviation specialist Phyl Durdey said AW139 helicopters require a more frequent maintenance schedule than their fixed-wing counterpart.
“It’s only 12 strong. So, when you do take one out of the equation, it does have an impact on the rest of the fleet,” Durdey said.
“A helicopter is susceptible to more vibrations than a regular fixed-wing aircraft because of the rotors spinning. So, it does cause cracks. Components can fail at an earlier time than a fixed-wing airplane, so they have a more rigorous maintenance schedule.”
Durdey explained that maintenance is usually pre-planned and includes parts being ordered ahead of time. He said when there is a shortage, manufacturers have to outsource the acquisition of parts, which impacts the maintenance schedule.
“It is a possibility that the tariffs could have an impact, because the manufacturer outsources a lot of manufacturing of parts, pieces and parts for the aircraft,” Durdey said.
“The tariffs that the U.S. has put on different countries could also have impacted the acquisition of materials or the cost of materials.”
This year, Ornge helicopters have airlifted 1,950 patients to Ontario hospitals as of May.
In addition to responding to emergency on-scene incidents, Ornge also moves patients between health-care facilities.
