Tender for New Health Helicopter Fleet Completed

The Canary Islands Health Service invests €39 million in a new fleet of medical helicopters, including one based in Fuerteventura

The Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), part of the public company Gestión de Servicios para la Salud y Seguridad en Canarias (GSC) and under the Canary Government’s Health Department, concluded the tender on 24 September for the acquisition of new medical helicopters. The contract, worth €39 million over the next four years, was awarded to a temporary consortium comprising Avincis Aviation Iberia, S.L.U.; Avincis Aviation Technics S.A.U.; and Avincis Aviation España, S.A.U. Service delivery must begin no later than 22 March.

From that date, the SUC will operate an additional medical aircraft, joining the two helicopters already stationed in Gran Canaria and Tenerife and the existing medical fixed‑wing aircraft. This third advanced‑life‑support helicopter will be based in Fuerteventura, serving the health area of the eastern islands, which already has a hospital helipad.

The location—midway between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura—will ensure comparable response times to serious incidents in either island group. The other two helicopters will remain at their current bases in Tenerife South and Gran Canaria airports. Crews will mirror the current configuration: a commander, a pilot, and an advanced‑life‑support (HEMS) medical team consisting of a physician and a nurse.

With three advanced‑life‑support aircraft, the islands will reduce response times when an aerial resource of this type is required. These helicopters are deployed for emergency assistance and inter‑hospital transfers of patients needing specialized care for severe health problems or injuries sustained in traffic accidents or outdoor activities, especially when evacuation from remote or hard‑to‑reach locations is necessary.

The service operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—a critical capability given the archipelago’s fragmented geography. In 2024 alone, the two existing medical helicopters were activated 1,065 times.

Improvements

The tender expands evaluation criteria to include several enhancements:

• High‑flow pediatric and neonatal oxygen therapy
• On‑board blood transport capability, with a portable device for point‑of‑care blood analysis
• Fire‑mitigation systems and universal‑syringe infusion pumps to speed patient care

A notable innovation is the requirement for digital integration of all electromedical equipment, allowing the SUC to monitor patients in real time from the coordination room and transmit data to the receiving hospital. This enables post‑mission case analysis to drive therapeutic improvements.

Additional scoring criteria cover:

• Specialized training for medical crews
• Equipping the helicopter with its own ECMO system (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which provides life‑support for patients with severe respiratory or cardiac failure by circulating blood through an artificial lung‑heart machine, allowing the patient’s own organs to rest and recover

The contract includes the possibility of a one‑year extension and potential modifications. Funding is co‑financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) 2014‑2020 operational programmes and may be eligible for financing under the 2021‑2027 programming period.