Helicopters and Firefighters from Jordan Arrived in Cyprus

Two firefighting helicopters and 18 crew members from Jordan have arrived in Cyprus. Ahead of the summer season, the island is bolstering its capabilities for extinguishing forest fires.

The crews from Jordan, upon arrival on Monday, were welcomed at the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos by the Minister of Agriculture, Maria Panayiotou.

According to the minister, the aircraft and crew will remain in Cyprus, at least until aircraft leased by the Cyprus government arrive on the island.

In the near future, the crews from Jordan will be ready to promptly respond to emerging threats. At least one crew will be on standby 24 hours a day, and the response time across the island will be 30 minutes.

Maria Panayiotou also added that fire prevention in Cyprus is a "matter of national security." For this reason, the government intends to procure a total of ten aircraft to be handed over to the National Guard for firefighting efforts.