● New report calls for EU reform to speed up procurement and ease bureaucracy in pilot licensing and technical certification
● Continent’s aerial fleet getting too old while capacity to build new aircraft remains hamstrung
● Current government investment insufficient, leaving Europe underprepared for longer and more intense wildfire seasons
● Calls from industry experts come after record-breaking 2025 fire season when more than 1.03 million hectares burned

Rome, Italy – March 24th, 2026: According to a report commissioned by Avincis, Europe is dangerously unprepared to tackle a surge in wildfires across the continent and must act urgently and cohesively to expand aerial firefighting capabilities and investment levels, leading industry experts have concluded.

The calls from a group of academics, business leaders and professional firefighters brought together by the largest European emergency aerial services operator Avincis, form part of the conclusions from the report, which was published this week at the ‘Aerial Fire Fighting Series: Global Conference and Exhibition,’ in Rome, Italy. They follow a record-breaking wildfire season in 2025, which saw more than 1.03 million hectares burn across the EU — more than any year on record — with 81 per cent of the damage concentrated in just five countries.

Overreliance on an ageing firefighting fleet

The report — ‘Up in flames: The challenges of fighting wildfires from the air in a hotter Europe’ — identifies the size and age of Europe’s aerial firefighting fleet as the most acute operational vulnerability. The €600 million commitment by the European Parliament in 2024 to procure 22 DHC-515 aircraft — amphibious firefighting aircraft developed by De Havilland Canada — across six countries, with deliveries staggered between 2027 and 2030, is welcomed by the industry but is far from sufficient.

The experts warned that this aircraft gap is becoming critical as wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense. Demand for aerial firefighting capacity is already increasing faster than Europe’s ability to supply it, particularly during peak summer months.

The report calls for bulk procurement frameworks that would enable manufacturers to open second production lines and accelerate delivery timelines. “We’re trying to start a second production line, but government bureaucracies are very slow,” says Brian Chafe, CEO of De Havilland, whose company has faced significant supply-chain challenges, in particular bureaucratic hurdles, “That’s not just for our aircraft, but any firefighting asset.”

Not enough pilots

The fleet shortage is compounded by a deepening human capital crisis. A foreign pilot seeking to work in the European Union faces upwards of 12 licence conversion examinations under EASA regulations — compared with one or two in the United States or Australia. And rising defence budgets across Europe are drawing experienced aviation talent towards military careers, and a generation of seasoned firefighting pilots is approaching retirement without sufficient numbers entering the profession to replace them.

The report warns that the workforce gap will take at least a decade to close and that action to build the training pipeline must begin immediately. “While we’ve got to develop new aircraft, we’ve also got to work out means of getting more people into the industry, and of helping maintain aircraft for longevity,” says John McDermott, the owner and former chief pilot of McDermott Aviation. “There is a need for not only good, robust aircraft, but robust crews to operate these aircraft.”

Europe structurally under-equipped

Current public investment levels remain focused on emergency response rather than preparedness, which leaves Europe structurally under-equipped to deal with the scale of wildfires expected in the coming years. Governments must move away from a reactive model and commit to sustained funding that expands fleet capacity, strengthens pilot training pipelines, and improves coordination across countries.

About the report experts

‘Up in flames: The challenges of fighting wildfires from the air in a hotter Europe’ is Avincis’ first flagship report examining the key challenges facing the industry and bringing together insights from experts around the world. Participants included:

● John Boag — Group Chief Executive, Avincis
● Anthony C. Marrone — Fire Chief, County of Los Angeles Fire Department
● Benjamin Berman — Chief of Air Operations, Los Angeles County Fire Department
● Timothy Sheehy — United States Senator; founder, Bridger Aerospace
● Sam Davis — Chief Executive, Bridger Aerospace
● Brian Chafe — Chief Executive, De Havilland Canada
● Andy King — Fleet Director, De Havilland Canada; former fighter pilot
● John McDermott — Owner and former chief pilot, McDermott Aviation (Australia)
● Mark Delany — Chief Executive, Ansett Aviation Training
● Johann Goldammer — Director, Global Fire Monitoring Center

About Avincis:

As the largest provider of emergency aerial services in Europe – with additional operations in Africa and South America – Avincis’ areas of focus are helicopter emergency medical services, air ambulance services, search and rescue, aerial firefighting, as well as dedicated emergency aerial transport for offshore energy. Operating from more than 190 bases across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Mozambique and Chile, the company oversees operations from its headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal. With a fleet of approximately 210 aircraft (helicopters ~169 and aeroplanes ~40), Avincis counts on a team of more than 2,500 talented professionals, including experienced pilots, crews, technicians, and support teams to deliver its unique service. With more than six decades of experience in the sector, Avincis has been instrumental in saving lives and protecting communities in some of the most challenging and remote environments on earth.

Photo courtesy of Stefania Loriga