As a nation with a large coastline, the Search And Rescue (SAR) task has been an important one for the Netherlands since the early days of the helicopter. In the past SAR was provided by both the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) and Air Force (RNLAF). No 7 Squadron, RNLN, operated the Westland Lynx helicopter from NAS De Kooy and for many years provided the primary SAR service for the Netherlands. No 303 Squadron, RNLAF, operated the Agusta AB412SP helicopter, from Leeuwarden Air Base and supported gunnery activities on the ranges, providing SAR for fast jet ejectees. They also facilitated transport of patients from the Dutch Wadden islands. After the withdrawal of the Lynx helicopter and disbandment of 303 Squadron, the SAR task was taken over in 2015 by the company Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) under a five-year-plus-two contract. NHV operated four AS365 Dauphin helicopters with a yellow livery, from Den Helder Airport and Rotterdam Pistoolhaven Heliport. ;With the aviation industry continuing to rebound post-pandemic, 2022 proved to be a strong year for the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) sector. Existing facilities were expanded, new facilities were opened and blueprints outlining future expansion plans were unveiled, including one involving what will be the world's largest single structure hangar. Nevertheless, the sector has been subjected to the same fragmented pace of recovery as the rest of the aviation industry. In late August last year, Lufthansa Technik (LHT) opened an extension to its thriving facility in Manila. Located at the city's international airport, this enhancement was part of a US$40m injection which created a capacity increase of 20. The facility - which operates as Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) - is frequently utilised by European carriers, with Lufthansa also using the engineering base to conduct post-pandemic return to service inspections for its first A380 to be reactivated.
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