ROME, March 24 (Reuters) - Europe is dangerously unprepared to tackle a growing wildfire crisis, and must overhaul its fleets of firefighting aircraft and step up investment, according to a report.
The paper - commissioned by Portugal-based Avincis, which leases firefighting planes and helicopters - said the increased risk across southern Europe was down to climate change, falling rural populations and build-ups of burnable vegetation.
Wildfires that typically rage from early June to mid-September were breaking out earlier and later in the year, the report drawn up by consulting firm Lead by Thought said.
'FIRE SEASONS ARE GETTING LONGER'
Blazes were also spreading northwards, added the paper that will be presented at the Aerial Fire Fighting Conference in Rome on Wednesday.
A total of 1,100 hectares burned in Sweden last year, a rise of more than 120% above the recent average, it said. Finland and Denmark also recorded figures exceeding their long-term baselines.
Concerns about the bloc's readiness to deal with the growing threat were echoed by independent EU advisers last month.
The European Commission will propose a new strategy on Wednesday aiming to strengthen early efforts to prevent and reduce fire risk.
Blazes destroyed 1.03 million hectares of forest across the European Union in 2025, the highest level since records began.
Spain, according to the report, suffered the most extensive damage, with 393,079 hectares burned, followed by Portugal, Romania, Italy, Greece and France.
"There is no question that fire seasons are getting longer. The window for transporting aircraft from one hemisphere to another is getting smaller, forcing the available global aerial-firefighting fleet into decline," John Boag, Group CEO of Avincis, said.
The EU committed 600 million euros ($694.56 million) in 2024 to buy 12 DHC-515 amphibious firefighting aircraft across six countries, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2030.
Brian Chafe, CEO of De Havilland Canada, the manufacturer of the aircraft, was quoted in the report as saying red tape delays were complicating efforts to scale up production.
"We're trying to start a second production line, but government bureaucracies are very slow," he said. "That's not just for our aircraft, but any firefighting asset."
The report said there was also a shortage of skilled workers.
A foreign pilot seeking employment in the EU must now undergo more than a dozen exams to get an EU Aviation Safety Agency license, compared with one or two in the United States or Australia, it added.
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(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
