Firefighting planes flight hours up by 1260% compared to last year

Due to the increased number of wildfires, Greek firefighting planes, Canadair and PZL, saw their flight hours in June increase by 1260% compared to the same month last year, sources stated to Kathimerini.

This June, the planes completed 522 hours of flight time, while last year they had logged just 36 hours. Only this weekend, with fires in multiple areas of Attica and on the island of Serifos, the waterbombers spent 72 hours in the air.

This has strained the planes, some of which are 50 years old, as well as the pilots and the supporting personnel on the ground.

"We have a problem with materials because the airplanes are old, however, we always find a way for them to fly," a military source told Kathimerini.

Last Tuesday, a Canadair had a close call during a firefighting operation in Nafpaktos, when its left wing was damaged after hitting a tree....