Built in the snow, destined for red dirt.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Western Australia (RFDS WA) has proudly partnered with Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus since 2001 and their PC-12 and PC-24 aircraft make up the entirety of their fixed wing fleet.
With RFDS WA, these aircraft become something more: flying intensive care units and hospitals in the sky. They deliver aeromedical care across 2.5 million square kilometres of Western Australia – the largest and most remote health jurisdiction in the world.
RFDS WA’s team of over 400 pilots, doctors, nurses, engineers and support crew are a lifeline for people living, working and travelling across regional and remote Western Australia, delivering the aeromedical and primary health care they need and deserve. They work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support the people of Western Australia.
In 2025, RFDS WA retrieved more than 10,500 people, an average of 29 people each day receiving emergency aeromedical care. A further 6,200 people received essential care through their Primary Health Care clinics in remote communities, bringing healthcare closer to home for regional Western Australians.
Distance shouldn’t be a barrier to health care, but in a state as vast as Western Australia, evidence shows that people living in regional communities are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes than those living in metropolitan areas.
Pilatus PC-24s support RFDS WA's service by travelling long distances at speed, and landing on sealed runways. Every second counts when someone needs critical care.
They will sometimes travel from Perth to Broome in WA’s north west – a two-and-a-half-hour flight each way – twice a day. Two of RFDS WA's PC-24s have now passed 10,000 lifetime flying hours, a world-first milestone for this aircraft type.
Pilatus PC-12s are the workhorses of RFDS WA’s fleet. Able to fly vast distances and land on gravel airstrips and remote runways, they provide access to even the most remote areas of Western Australia.
Flying a combined six million kilometres each year, RFDS WA's current PC-12 aircraft support more than 7,500 aeromedical retrievals annually.
Many of the PC-12s are approaching 20,000 operating hours. Eight will be progressively retired and replaced by next-generation PC-12 PROs by 2030. The RFDS WA has proudly welcomed four PC-12 PROs so far in 2026 and training with its frontline crews and engineers has commenced.
RFDS WA Acting General Manager Aviation Damien Whitham said the team was excited to be one of the first organisations using PC-12 PROs in Australia. “Our pilots are eager to continue training on the new aircraft and having the PRO in our fleet also makes us an attractive proposition for new pilots who want to take a step forward in their career and work for the RFDS.”
RFDS WA CEO Judith Barker ASM said the new aircraft represented an important investment in the future of rural and remote health care.
“This aircraft gives us greater range, reliability and capability, which is critical when operating across WA's vast and often challenging environment,” Ms Barker said.
“When someone is critically unwell or injured, every minute matters. This aircraft helps ensure help can arrive sooner, and patients can be transported faster to the care they need.”
Join ASAIN and the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland to visit Pilatus' factory in Stans, Nidwalden on the 28th of October, 2026: https://luma.com/pm8pvb1o
Thank you to Athena Orias of the RFDS Western Australia for contributing this article.