The changes will effect Prince William’s fleet
RAF Valley in Anglesey is facing an uncertain future as plans by the UK government to sell off its search and rescue helicopter service are expected.
A government source says the sale of the helicopter service to a consortium will be given the go-ahead.
Some coastguard control centres – which coordinate UK rescue efforts – are also expected to close under government spending cuts.
The Department for Transport needs to cut spending by 15% over four years.
But it also wants to modernise the rescue service, replacing its aging fleet of helicopters.
However, there has already been concerns raised by mountain rescue teams in Wales.
Chris Lloyd from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue which covers Snowdonia, said in an interview for BBC Wales Today last month: “I’m not quite sure how the new contract will be set up but there are disadvantages in that we might not get any training to work with the helicopters as we have very good training with the RAF helicopters at the moment.
Prince William qualified as a pilot in September at RAF Valley in north Wales “And, also, I’m not quite sure of the flying regulations for civilianised aircraft because I know the military can operate in more difficult conditions than civilian aircraft.”
Prince William, or Ft Lt Wales, graduated as a search and rescue pilot after 19 months of training at RAF Valley, taking up post in September.
His training included day and night flying and training to provide a life-saving rescue service to both military personnel and civilians in the UK.
“While we appreciate that these cutbacks need to take place for a reason, they are going to put rescuers and casualties at greater risk.”
Mark Jones Brecon Mountain Rescue Team
It is thought the plans will not affect the Prince who will have completed his tour of duty with 22 Squadron by the time the plans are implemented in 2016.
The previous UK government proposed that private companies should take over the running of search and rescue helicopters from the RAF and that the Sea King fleet – in which Prince William learned to fly – should be scrapped.
This service is currently provided by the RAF and Royal Navy, plus civilian helicopters through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
In February it was announced that the 24-hour service would be run by private consortium Soteria from 2012, from 12 bases across the UK.
Aviation journalist Jim Ferguson said confirmation of the private finance initiative was expected on Tuesday.
“We were expecting a statement to the stock market on Tuesday saying a consortium – partly French, partly Canadian – based in Aberdeen – will be taking over the UK search and rescue fleet starting from 2012,” he said in an interview on BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement.
“My understanding of this is that there will be no change in unit locations so RAF Valley will remain where it is.
“There is a suggestion that (RAF) Chivenor (Devon) which covers south Wales will go from 24/7 availability to 12 hours a day – that has to be confirmed.”
Mark Jones, deputy team leader at Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, said, following a rescue in the Beacons earlier this month, that plans to downgrade the Chivenor operation should be reconsidered.
“While we appreciate that these cutbacks need to take place for a reason, they are going to put rescuers and casualties at greater risk,” he said.
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