Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the Elefsina Air Base this morning, where the firefighting aircraft of the 383rd Special Operations and Aerial Firefighting Squadron and the 355th Tactical Transport Squadron are stationed.

“I want to give you a big ‘thank you.’ I know how difficult what you do is, especially for the CL-215 pilots. I fully understand what it means to fly these highly strained aircraft. And of course, I know how much work is done by the support technicians to keep these aircraft in the air.

We have done everything we can to bring the new Canadair 515s as soon as possible. We have signed the relevant contract. We played a leading role in ensuring that there was a large order from Europe so that the production line could start. For those who complain that we don’t have them sooner, they simply didn’t know that these planes are no longer being produced and that a large order is necessary to start production.

However, we know that for the next few years—certainly for the next three years—we will have to make do with what we have. I want you to know how much society appreciates what you are doing under extremely difficult and adverse conditions.

I have said it many times, we always try to get better. We don’t expect the solution to come only from the air. Significant work needs to be done in the area of prevention. I believe we have laid some important first foundations in this direction.

We must understand that this is a collective effort in a time of great climate crisis, which I think we are all experiencing. We must constantly strive to improve. And from every mistake or fire that gets out of control, we must always look to learn what we can do better.

What I do not want under any circumstances is for the work of the entire state mechanism to be undermined as part of political confrontation.

The pilots, firefighters, and volunteers themselves have done this work. So, from every fire that escapes, we learn our lessons, especially for the very difficult areas where you practically cannot operate, such as the interface between the forest and the urban fabric,” said the Prime Minister in conversation with the pilots of the firefighting aircraft.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accompanied by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, and the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Air Marshal Demosthenes Grigoriadis, was briefed on the missions of the Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 firefighting aircraft, which contribute to the challenging task of extinguishing fires. He also visited the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, where he spoke with the technicians who maintain the aircraft around the clock to respond effectively to their missions.

The Prime Minister also spoke with the American pilots of the Erickson helicopters used in aerial firefighting operations, as well as the Italian pilots of the Canadair firefighting aircraft and the French pilots of the Super Puma helicopter, who have come to Greece through the European Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) to assist in combating forest fires.