National Police Air Services Fixed Wing MRO Services

Concepts

• aircraft
• leeds
• national police air services fixed wing mro services
• fixed wing aircraft mro services
• fixed wing aircraft mro
• mro
• a new mro contract
• the national police air service
• the current service provision
• air

Location

Leeds

Description

The provision of Fixed Wing Aircraft MRO services (including Continuing Airworthiness Management and Spare Parts) for the National Police Air Service (which prior to its unexpected early closure, was operated out of Doncaster Sheffield Airport).

Total Quantity or Scope

A direct award of a two-year contract with the incumbent Supplier (utilising the remaining engineers from the current service provision) for a contract running from 01/04/2024. This will allow the Authority to undertake a full and proper procurement exercise to mitigate the risks highlighted below. A tender process and market engagement will begin in 2024 with the aim of establishing a new MRO contract from April 2026 onwards.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 50211000 - Repair and maintenance services of aircraft

Indicators

Legal Justification

This award is being made 'for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority' under PCR2015 32(2)(c). The National Police Air Service (NPAS), housed and maintained their fixed wing fleet at Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). The MRO contract for the fixed wing fleet, previously awarded to Gama expires 31st March 2024. In 2022, preparations began on a tender process aimed at establishing a new MRO provision from April 2024. Following the unexpected closure of DSA by the airport's operator in November 2022, urgent reactive activity established a temporary solution which was to locate two of the aircraft at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), where limited maintenance could be performed by the Supplier's personnel. The remainder of the aircraft were to be relocated at the Suppliers base of operations at Bournemouth Airport (BOH), where the main 'base' maintenance activity would also be undertaken. This was not a sustainable solution and a long-term option was needed. East Midlands Airport (EMA) was identified, and negotiations began early in 2023 to secure a lease for the site. The aim was to have EMA occupied and operational by May 2023. This did not happen due to protracted negotiations on the terms of the lease. The lease was concluded in late 2023, and maintenance work then commenced to get the EMA site operationally ready for occupation. The building work is still underway in January 2024. Hopefully the CAA will be able to visit the NPAS EMA site in February 2024 to assess the site and to approve it as a line or base station for MRO operations. NPAS has had no permanent base which was operationally ready for its fixed wing fleet during the whole of 2023. NPAS were therefore unable to start a tender process without a confirmed base for the MRO contract for its fixed wing fleet. The aircraft would have soon become operationally non-viable due to the lack of engineers and maintenance facilities, therefore preventing NPAS from being able to deliver serviceable aircraft, long before the tender would have been completed. In short, the fixed wing fleet would have been grounded within a few months of starting a tender. Without the certainty of EMA becoming a permanent site neither the incumbent Supplier nor a prospective bidder would have been able to provide firm proposals under a tender process. Conversely it would have been difficult for NPAS to have made an appropriate evaluation and selection in case EMA did not eventually become an NPAS base. Existing nor prospective suppliers would have been able to commence a recruitment process, nor proceed with having engineering staff appropriately type rated. The Civil Aviation Authority would also have been unable to complete any approvals process for any provider without a confirmed location. The practical impact would have been a reduction of the overall NPAS fleet size by almost 20% as the fixed wing fleet would have had to have been grounded: This would have had a major impact upon the ability to support UK policing operations. This presented a credible risk of danger to life for the public and a reduction in crime prevention and detection. It was predicted that the grounding of the fixed wing aircraft could have been at least 9 to 12 months, given that the EMA site is still undergoing building work (to allow it to become operational and approved by the CAA) in January 2024. The existing contract expires on 31/3/24 and following negotiations an agreement has been reached to direct award a two-year contract with the incumbent Supplier (utilising the remaining engineers from the current service provision) for a contract running from 01/04/2024. This will allow the Authority to undertake a full and proper procurement exercise to mitigate the risks highlighted above. A tender process and market engagement will begin in 2024 with the aim of establishing a new MRO contract from April 2026 onwards.