At 6:30 a.m. on Monday, the two firefighting aircraft dispatched by Cyprus departed for France, in response to a request from Paris submitted through the European Civil Protection Mechanism to assist in fighting the wildfires ravaging the country.

As the National Civil Protection Coordinator, Chief Fire Officer Nikos Logginos, told CNA, “the request concerned the two aircraft of the Republic of Cyprus,” which are leased to the Republic of Cyprus by the EU through rescEU and are stationed in Cyprus, and are made available to the European mechanism when needed. The two aircraft, Forest 3 and Forest 4, departed with two pilots, an observer, and a mechanic bound for Perpignan, and are expected to arrive around 7:00 p.m. local time.

At the same time, he noted, a team of eight people is also traveling to France on a private flight, which is expected to arrive earlier than the aircraft. According to Mr. Logginos, the estimated duration of the Cypriot mission is approximately five days, while the crews will operate in the area designated by the relevant French authorities, depending on operational needs.

As Mr. Logginos noted, the Ministry of the Interior has been informed of this, and since there are currently no major active fire fronts in the Republic of Cyprus, “it made the decision to send the assistance, and subsequently notified the relevant parties through the European system that the two aircraft were available.”

He added that “around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, the request was accepted, and the Air Force Squadron was notified, which then proceeded with operational planning.”