Volga-Dnepr Airlines has urgently flown four water-bombers from two Australian airports to Athens, Greece where wildfire battles continue. 

Volga-Dnepr Airlines, part of Volga-Dnepr Group transported four Bell 214B with tanks and other associated equipment in partnership with Chapman Freeborn Australia and McDermott Aviation – Heli-Lift.

The operation was completed within the toughest timeframes – only two days after confirmation An-124-100 was positioned to Australia to commence its journey to Athens (Greece) with double pick-up at Wellcamp and Perth (Australia). The cargo, weighing over 30 tons, has been split between two locations, with two helicopters and equipment to be uplifted in each airport.

It is expected that four water-bombers will ramp up Greek efforts to battle wildfires which have significantly spread over the last weeks. 48 hours after landing and reassembly in Athens they joined the fleet of other Bell 214B.

Ekaterina Andreeva, commercial director, Volga-Dnepr Airlines, said, “This is the first time throughout our 30 years of operations when we transported four helicopters on a single occasion, with the loading being done in two steps.”