Despite the recent difficulties in the competitions to secure firefighting aircraft, Agriculture Minister Kostas Kadis said that over the coming weeks the Forestry Department will be in full operational readiness to deal with forest fires.
The Minister said that Russia’s invasion in Ukraine changed past practices, for example the leasing of firefighting helicopters, since this is not feasible due to EU sanctions on Russia.
Kostas Kadis noted that despite the fact that the competitions for the leasing of two firefighting planes and two helicopters were barren, the government will proceed with Plan B,’ meaning negotiations with bodies that expressed interest in the above competition, hoping to secure the four aircraft.
