Avincis has concluded a four-month aerial firefighting mission in Chile where it tripled the number of hours flown compared to previous seasons.

The company deployed two AS332-L2s from Spain to Chile. Between them they performed almost 3,300 water drops, accounting for around 10 million litres of water, from early December 2024 to the end of March 2025. These heavy aircraft flew 437 hours, three times more per aircraft than in the previous firefighting season, with 76 per cent of the activity concentrated in February and March.

John Boag, Group CEO, Avincis, said: “Our team has had a phenomenal season in Chile this year. They have worked really hard, often flying the aircraft in shifts for more than eight hours a day. I am extremely proud of their resilience and commitment to saving lives and protecting community’s day in and day out for the three months they were stationed in Chile. The Airbus Super Puma, with its capacity to carry up to 3,500 liters of water in a Bambi Bucket, is the perfect aircraft for this mission.”

A team of 20 Avincis personnel, pilots, engineers and technicians, were mobilized from Spain for this mission. The company operated from two bases, Los Angeles and Angol, 500 kilometers south of Santiago, the capital. Avincis has been operating firefighting in Chile for three years.

After fighting fires in South America during the northern hemisphere winter, the helicopters now return to Spain, where Avincis also provides maritime aerial search and rescue and helicopter medical emergency services to Spanish national and regional government customers.

“Our team has had a phenomenal season in Chile this year. They have worked really hard, often flying the aircraft in shifts for more than eight hours a day. I am extremely proud of their resilience and commitment to saving lives and protecting community’s day in and day out for the three months they were stationed in Chile. The Airbus Super Puma, with its capacity to carry up to 3,500 liters of water in a Bambi Bucket, is the perfect aircraft for this mission.” Said John Boag, Group CEO, Avincis