Canadair CL-415 owned by the Croatian Air Force: Part of the European water bomber fleet.
Robert Erenstein/aeroTELEGRAPH
Two additional aircraft
The EU is investing in its firefighting fleet
The European Union is building up a fleet of water bombers to fight forest fires. It has now been expanded further.
Top-Jobs
Administrator AVOR & CAMO
Kaufmännische Leitung und Unternehmensorganisation
Vollzeit
Kasaero GmbH
Luftfahrt
Feste Anstellung
Top jobs
Böblingen
Deutschland
First Officer Cessna 525 (m/f/d)
Vollzeit
Smartline Luftfahrt GmbH
Aircraft Management
Feste Anstellung
Top jobs
Airport St. Gallen Altenrhein
Österreich
The change in climate leads to warmer and drier summers. And that increases the risk of forest fires. «While fires may be part of some ecosystems, they are becoming more frequent and larger due to human-induced climate change», says Pascal Peduzzi, director of the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP.
To tackle the threat, EU member states have decided to pool and expand their resources. Last year, the EU adopted Resc EU, a plan to strengthen disaster response. Part of it is a fleet of fire-fighting planes and helicopters.
Fire-fighting helicopters
Now it has been extended by two planes which are stationed in Sweden. The two Air Tractor AT-802 are operated by Saab. The purchase of the planes was funded by the EU.
«Forest fires can break out at any time and climate change has led to their increase throughout Europe. We must be prepared this summer», comments Janez Lenarčič, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management. The Resc EU fleet now comprises 13 aircraft and six helicopters. Two fire-fighting aircraft are located in Croatia, two in Cyprus, one in France, two in Greece, two in Italy, two in Spain and two in Sweden, where there are also six fire-fighting helicopters.
Canadair planes still widely used
The aircraft most frequently used for fire fighting is the Canadair CL-415, production of which was discontinued in 2015. However, since the users are very satisfied, the Canadian owner Viking Air is starting production of an improved version, the Viking Air CL-515.
Video
Kurz vor dem Abflug nach Manchester kam es an Bord einer Boeing 737 in Palma de Mallorca zu einem Brand. Die Crew löste eine Evakuierung aus – mit teils chaotischen Szenen. Mehrere Passagiere wurden verletzt.
Von Vogelschlag-Kontrollee über Follow-Me-Fahrt bis Flugzeug-Einweisung: Auf dem Vorfeld des Flughafens Frankfurt bleibt keine Minute planbar. Wir waren mit Marius unterwegs – einem Mann, der seit 30 Jahren für Ordnung auf dem Asphalt sorgt.
Gleich drei russische Flugzeugmodelle werden deutlich teurer als noch vor zwei Jahren erwartet. Mit dabei: die Yakovlev MS-21.
