ALICANTE, Spain, April 10th 2025 – Avincis, Europe’s leading emergency aerial services operator, has concluded a four-month aerial firefighting mission in Chile where it tripled the number of hours flown compared to previous seasons.
The company deployed two Airbus Super Puma AS332-L2 helicopters from Spain to Chile. Between them they performed almost 3,300 water drops, accounting for around 10 million litres of water, from early December 2024 to the end of March. These heavy aircraft flew 437 hours, three times more per aircraft than in the previous firefighting season, with 76 per cent of the activity concentrated in February and March.
John Boag, Group CEO, Avincis, said: “Our team has had a phenomenal season in Chile this year. They have worked really hard, often flying the aircraft in shifts for more than eight hours a day. I am extremely proud of their resilience and commitment to saving lives and protecting communities day in and day out for the three months they were stationed in Chile. The Airbus Super Puma, with its capacity to carry up to 3,500 litres of water in a Bambi Bucket, is the perfect aircraft for this mission.”
A team of 20 Avincis personnel, pilots, engineers and technicians, were mobilised from Spain for this mission. The company operated from two bases, Los Angeles and Angol, 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital. Avincis has been operating firefighting in Chile for three years.
The Airbus AS332-L2 Super Puma has proven to be an extremely suitable tool to operate in this harsh environment, and to meet the needs of Avincis’ Chilean customers. Each helicopter has the capacity to transport up to 18 firemen and carry up to 3,500 litres of water in a Bambi Bucket system. The Super Puma is among the biggest helicopters in Avincis’ global fleet of 220 aircraft.
In Chile, authorities have registered more than 5,800 forest fires in this 2024/2025 fire season. The burnt area exceeds 89,000 hectares, which is 20% more than in the same period last year. The seriousness of the situation led the authorities to declare a state of emergency in February. In total, Chile had more than 70 aircraft, helicopters and aeroplanes from national and international providers, supporting its aerial firefighting efforts throughout the season.
After fighting fires in South America during the northern hemisphere winter, the helicopters now return to Spain, where Avincis also provides maritime aerial search and rescue and helicopter medical emergency services to Spanish national and regional government customers.
This summer, these Super Puma helicopters will be providing lifesaving aerial firefighting services to Spanish customers.
Avincis’ firefighting fleet includes more than 70 aircraft (helicopters and amphibious Canadair aeroplanes), operating in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Chile. This fleet flew more than 8,500 hours of firefighting missions in 2024.
