During Question Time in Parliament on Friday, caretaker Transport Minister Hristo Alexiev expressed the hope that by June, Bulgaria will have two medical helicopters with ready crew. The deadline for the submission of bids for the first two helicopters has expired on Thursday, and two offers have been submitted by reputable Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operators, the Minister explained.
The Minister also reminded that Bulgaria is expected to acquire more helicopters under another procedure, the first of which is expected to arrive in December 2023 and the rest in the period 2025-2026.
Hristov was taking a question by Nastimir Ananiev MP of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, who asked the minister to justify the caretaker government's decision to close down the Bulgaria Heli Med Service association. According to Ananiev, this would make the search and rescue activity more expensive by outsourcing it to other operators. Alexiev replied that the State should make a much bigger commitment, rather than having the operation of air ambulance taken over by a commercial company, even a state-owned one.
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