Today is expected to be the last day of operations for the two Cypriot firefighting aircraft participating in the effort to extinguish the major wildfires in France, and provided the situation does not worsen, the process of returning them to Cyprus will begin tomorrow, as the National Civil Protection Coordinator, Chief Fire Officer Nikos Logginos, told CNA.

As Mr. Logginos noted, the two aircraft dispatched by Cyprus “have contributed significantly both to containing the active fire front and to tackling flare-ups.”

“Today appears to be the last day the aircraft will remain here. If everything goes smoothly, they will continue operations today, and tomorrow the process of their return to Cyprus will begin, unless conditions change dramatically and new instructions are issued by the French Civil Protection Agency,” he said.

As he noted, Cypriot aircraft are operating in southwestern France, based at the Perpignan airport, which is approximately 40 kilometers from the fire front.

Regarding Cyprus’s operational readiness, the Air Force Chief assured that the country remains on full alert, despite the deployment of the two aircraft to France.

“We are on standby and on high alert 24 hours a day. Eleven aircraft remain in Cyprus, and there are also those at the bases that can be deployed in firefighting operations,” he said.

He added, however, that the effectiveness of aerial firefighting does not depend solely on the number of aircraft, but also on factors such as wind speed, terrain, vegetation, temperature, and relative humidity.

As he noted, even in countries such as France and Spain, where more than 100 aircraft are deployed, there are cases in which fires remain particularly difficult to bring under control.

Referring to how the European rescEU mechanism operates, Mr. Loginos explained that when a country faces severe wildfires, it submits a request through the European Civil Protection Mechanism for assistance. The request is then forwarded to countries with pre-positioned aerial resources, which assess whether they can respond.

In the case of Cyprus, he said, the mission was made possible because there were no active major fire fronts.

He added that, in addition to the pilots, each mission is accompanied by a technical and operational support team. Upon arrival in the host country, the team is briefed by local authorities on the specific conditions in the area and is integrated into the operational plan until the mission is completed and the team is cleared to return.