A helicopter on standby 24/7, 365 days a year, to “save lives”

The presentation on Monday, March 23, of the first medical‑heli helicopter with a permanent base in Fuerteventura was attended by a broad range of institutional representatives, led by the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo.

During the ceremony, Clavijo said:

“Pre‑hospital emergency care in the archipelago will now have three advanced‑life‑support aircraft – in addition to the medical plane – which will help reduce response times whenever an aerial resource of this kind is needed.”

The President of the Cabildo, Lola García, highlighted:

“This day is crucial for Fuerteventura because we are finally answering one of the most urgent historic demands of the island’s residents.
The medical helicopter based on our island, which will operate 365 days a year, is a resource we have been demanding for years as an urgent and essential need to cut down the time of critical transports, a measure that will save lives.”

García added that the Cabildo’s priority is caring for people and that inter‑administrative collaboration between the Cabildo, the Canary Islands Government, and the Island Health Authority has made this and other health‑care improvements possible, with resources planned across the entire territory.

Official First Landing of the Medical Helicopter at the Fuerteventura Base

Health Minister Esther Monzón explained that the helicopter is an essential extra‑hospital air‑medical service for the archipelago, given its fragmented geography, and that it will operate every day of the year. She pointed to activity data to illustrate the need: in 2025, the two medical helicopters previously available to the Servicio de Urgencias y Coordinación (SUC) were activated 1,148 times, a 7.8 % increase over the previous year.

Monzón noted that SUC’s medical helicopters are deployed for:

• Assistance and transfer of patients between hospitals of different levels who require specialized care for severe illnesses or accident‑related injuries.
• Urgent evacuations from remote or hard‑to‑reach areas to medical centers.

The visit also included:

• Manuel Miranda, Councillor for Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Emergencies.
• Adasat Goya, Director of the Servicio Canario de Salud (SCS).
• Tomás Pérez, Director of the Fuerteventura Health Area.
• David de Vera, Mayor of Puerto del Rosario.
• Noemí González, Regional Director of the SUC.
• Additional officials from the Health Services Management and the helicopter’s medical team.