North Battleford Air Terminal is located east of the city, off Territorial Drive on Airport Road. (File photo/battlefordsNOW)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

North Battleford airport sees hundreds of air ambulance landings each year, report shows

Oct 31, 2025 | 10:59 AM

The City of North Battleford’s airport continues to serve as a lifeline for medical emergencies, with hundreds of air ambulance flights landing there each year.

At this week’s council meeting, Director of Operations Stewart Schafer told councillors the city collected data from Saskatchewan Air Ambulance (SAA) and STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) after council asked how often the airport is used for emergency flights.

SAA recorded 207 flights between April 2023 and March 2024, 261 flights from April 2024 to March 2025, and 136 flights between April and August 2025.

According to the province, SAA operates four medically equipped airplanes that provide service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, completing about 1,500 patient transfers annually. The program works with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to meet growing demand for specialized critical-care transport.

Schafer said the data for STARS is “partially incomplete,” since the organization only tracks when patients are dropped off or picked up — not when helicopters stop to refuel or transfer between bases.

Grey Cup!!!

Everything you wanted and more

Nov 21, 2025

Ferland earns Grey Cup ring

'A wonderful human being': High school coach thrilled Logan Ferland is a Grey Cup champion

Nov 17, 2025

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

North Battleford funds early work to launch $80.2M arena and event centre fundraising campaign

Nov 17, 2025

So far, STARS has recorded 42 patient drop-offs in 2024 and 33 so far this year, though it estimates using the North Battleford airport about twice a week, or roughly 104 times a year.

Across the province, STARS flew 921 missions last year, part of more than 63,000 missions since the service began in 1985, according to its website.

The non-profit operates from bases in Saskatoon and Regina, handling an average of 10 emergency calls a day at a cost of about $12.2 million per base annually.

The city’s report was presented under North Battleford’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, which aims to better track regional emergency services and strengthen public-safety planning.

—

cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com