José Ribeiro, the deputy national commander of Civil Protection, stated on Monday that the two ‘Canadair’ planes assigned to the Special Device for Combating Rural Fires (DECIR), which are currently out of service, have likely experienced “engine-related failures.” He acknowledged that this situation is “understandable” given the operational activity in recent days.
“To our knowledge, these are essentially engine-related failures, although I cannot specify the exact nature of the issues in more detail,” Ribeiro said during an update on rural fires in Portugal.
“These situations, I believe, are understandable given the operational activity over the past few days, especially concerning aerial operations,” he added.
Ribeiro reported that today, by 6:30 PM, 150 missions had been carried out. Yesterday, he noted, 165 missions were completed, totaling 232 flight hours. “I would say it is natural for these machines to experience some constraints,” he emphasized.
Portugal will receive two ‘Canadair’ planes from Morocco later today to assist in combating rural fires following the malfunction of the aircraft operating in the country. There is a third plane available to substitute in case of further issues, which is also currently out of service.
The Ministry of Internal Administration has activated the bilateral cooperation mechanism with Morocco in civil protection, due to the unavailability of Portugal’s heavy firefighting aircraft ‘Canadair’.
Carmen Guilherme with Lusa | 18:30 – 11/08/2025
The technical intervention required for the repairs of the two grounded aircraft is expected to reintegrate them into the national system by the end of this week.
A spokesperson for the Portuguese Air Force (FAP), responsible for contracting aerial firefighting resources, told Lusa that the companies renting and operating these planes are required to replace the out-of-service ‘Canadair’ planes and face penalties for any contract breaches.
The FAP deferred to the companies for further information on the reasons behind the malfunctions.
Avincis, the company responsible for operating the ‘Canadair’ planes in Portugal, indicated that they are working to bring two replacement aircraft to Portugal “as soon as possible.” However, the company did not provide specific arrival dates or clarify when and why the firefighting aircraft became inoperational.
[News in update]
