Kenny Morrow needs to hire 35 more pilots. The market is slim pickings and Morrow is happy that his company’s need is not greater. The COO of Metro Aviation oversees pilots and mechanics supporting 160 helicopter air ambulances—around 85 percent of them light twins—that primarily fly for hospital programs nationwide. Metro’s fleet flies roughly 130 missions per day, and Covid has definitely accelerated that pace.
Over the last two years, helicopter air ambulances have flown into the eye of the great pandemic burnout, a microcosm of an overtaxed healthcare system that seems at times held together with little more than paper clips and duct tape. The increased flight volume is being driven by what Morrow calls health care “Tetris,” a reference to the computer puzzle game. Covid has created stresses and shortages in the healthcare system as a whole and more patients need to be moved between facilities to get appropriate care due to capacity and medical personnel shortages. While many of these transports are far from exigent, ground ambulances alone can’t handle the load.
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