During this year’s Heli-Expo, Christchurch Helicopters of Christchurch, New Zealand, will receive the HAI Salute to Excellence Sikorsky Humanitarian Award. The association is honoring the operator for its actions during an earthquake in November 2016 and the February 2017 Port Hills fires in Christchurch. The award will be presented during the February 28 Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner in Las Vegas.

When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand’s South Island on Nov. 14, 2016, the crews from Christchurch Helicopters got to work. The earthquake lasted for two minutes and caused landslides that destroyed roads and railroads. Crews from Christchurch Helicopters quickly arrived at Kaikoura, a seaside community isolated from the rest of the country, and began helping stranded residents and tourists. Christchurch Helicopters transported urban search-and-rescue personnel to the island to rescue 130 Chinese tourists.

The operator worked with New Zealand Civil Defense to coordinate an aerial program to deliver supplies, continue evacuations, and support the recovery project. Christchurch Helicopters and the organization coordinated services between several other helicopter companies to transport 1,300 workers, deliver cancer medication, and fly a plumber to an isolated farmhouse to help a stranded young mother and her baby who had no water or sewage.

Christchurch Helicopters’ efforts, combined with those of the other helicopter companies, was the largest air bridge in New Zealand history. Just a few months after the events at Kaikoura, Christchurch Helicopters went on to save lives in the Port Hills fires in Christchurch.

HAI’s Salute to Excellence Sikorsky Humanitarian Award will be presented to Christchurch Helicopter for demonstrating the value of helicopters to the communities it serves and for providing aid to those in need.