A firefighting aircraft flies during a wildfire as seen from the village of Cotignac, in the Var department, France, July 21, 2026. [Manon Cruz/Reuters]
Europe’s largest aerial emergency services firm Avincis is warning Europe is not ready for longer and more extreme wildfire seasons, with the company’s chief executive telling Reuters that its firefighting aircraft are now needed almost year-round.
CEO John Boag said longer European wildfire seasons and bureaucratic obstacles have exacerbated regional shortages of both aircraft and the experienced pilots needed to fly them.
“Globally, fire seasons are getting longer, aircraft are not moving between areas and pilots are becoming harder and harder to get,” Boag said in an interview.
The comments by Boag, a helicopter pilot who began his career herding cattle in Australia’s outback in a Bell 47 chopper in 1985, come as France and Spain battle historic wildfires after weeks of drought turned forests into major fire risks.
