Bulgaria’s first air ambulance to arrive from Italy on February 1

The first Bulgarian air ambulance takes off for our country this morning, from the manufacturing plant in Italy, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said at the beginning of the regular weekly government meeting on January 31.

The helicopter will arrive in Bulgaria tomorrow, February 1, and its official presentation will be on Friday, February 2, at Vrazhdebna air base, the Cabinet press office said later.

By the end of 2026, Bulgaria will have 6 medical helicopters. Their bases have been designated so that every part of the country is covered by at least two medical helicopters, the PM noted.

In what cases will the air ambulance fly?

"This is a new stage in emergency care and health care for the Bulgarians. Air ambulances are an essential lifeline in critical situations and life saving. The helicopter will help in accidents, to transport patients, assist in donor situations and deliver emergency equipment such as blood, medicines and equipment.

For the Eurosceptics, I remind that these helicopters were purchased with European funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Air ambulances are key to providing emergency medical care in every corner. Their bases are set so that every part of Bulgaria is covered by at least two helicopters. This is how we guarantee medical assistance at the so-called 'golden hour', the Prime Minister said.

The cost of air assistance for each patient is borne by the state. The Prime Minister congratulated the pilots who will operate the helicopters and the doctors who will rescue the patients.

Six pilots have received a certificate to operate a medical helicopter.

He pointed out that in order to provide medical helicopters in the country, it became necessary to rescue the air medical services first.

"We had to rescue the air rescue first. We stopped the liquidation of the company, which was founded under the Petkov cabinet and closed by the caretaker government," he said.

The first helipad in Sofia is now part of the helicopter emergency medical service