Has the SUC air ambulance on Tenerife stopped flying?

No. According to the Consejería de Sanidad, transfers between the islands and to the mainland continue. The department is also working on alternatives.

What happened to the SUC aircraft at the weekend?

The aircraft broke down, according to the Consejería de Sanidad. Eliance is to repair it, which is why the firm keeps flying for now. The Consejería did not say whether the repair is finished.

Are the firefighting helicopters on Tenerife affected?

Yes, the Cabildo's two helicopters run through Eliance. The Cabildo says two other firms stand ready, but it gives no names.

Do visitors in the south of Tenerife need to do anything?

Not as things stand. Nobody has announced new rules, fees or deadlines for the public.

How much do the affected contracts cost?

The SUC aircraft contract costs 8 million euros over four years. For the two helicopters, the Cabildo pays 7.7 million euros until 2028.

Tenerife: SUC air ambulance flies on after Eliance collapse

Is the SUC air ambulance still flying on Tenerife?

The air ambulance is still flying, although the Consejería de Sanidad (the Canary health department) has known about Eliance's problems since 27 October. Its spokespeople say transfers between the islands and to the mainland have carried on since then.

The aircraft broke down at the weekend, and Eliance is to repair it. The firm keeps flying for the islands for now, but the Consejería did not say whether the repair is finished.

The aircraft is a Beechcraft King Air B 200 GT, a turboprop for transfers with advanced life support. The Canarian government's company GSC signed the 8 million euro contract in 2022 for four years.

According to the Consejería, GSC (Gestión de Servicios para la Salud y Seguridad en Canarias) is working on alternatives so the service does not stop. It has not said which aircraft or which firm would step in.

What applies to the Cabildo's firefighting helicopters?

The Cabildo de Tenerife (island government) pays Eliance 7.7 million euros for two firefighting helicopters. The contract runs from 2024 to 2028 and falls on the Cabildo alone.

Under a Cabildo decision of 30 August 2023, one helicopter flies 365 days a year and the other 180 days. Both are based at Tenerife Sur airport, in the south of the island.

The machines drop water or foam and also carry crew and equipment. They back up the Cabildo's firefighters and help monitor protected areas.

Cabildo sources say they have looked for emergency solutions and two firms stand ready. They name neither, and it is open whether a gap will appear in the fire season.

What does this mean for visitors in the south?

Nobody has announced any change for visitors and residents so far. Nobody has published anything on fees, new rules or deadlines for the public either.

The air ambulance serves the islands. Its flights connect them with hospitals on the mainland.

The SUC rescue helicopters run on a separate contract. One of them is based at Tenerife Sur airport.

In practice, as things stand, travellers in the south need change nothing. Any new advice would have to come from the Consejería de Sanidad or the Cabildo.

Who is Eliance and how serious is the situation?

Eliance Helicopter Global Service operates in several Spanish regions, in Italy and in Croatia. Reports say the firm has stopped work for the customs surveillance service SVA and in the Comunidad de Madrid.

The CCOO trade union had already warned about the firm's problems about a month earlier. Sources disagree on the legal status: some speak of a concurso de acreedores (creditor proceedings), others of a preconcurso, the stage before it.

Reports say Eliance has won contracts worth more than 280 million euros since 2022. The traffic authority DGT alone pays 51.1 million euros for seven helicopters under a contract from September 2025.

If the helicopters stand idle, the firm faces fines of 6,000 to 10,000 euros a day, according to reports. None of the sources gives a filing date, a court, a debt figure or a staff number.

What happens next with the contracts?

According to the Cabildo and Sanidad, Eliance has not yet given up the contracts. Both bodies are waiting for the decision that settles the firm's status.

The Cabildo says it has opened a regular tender for a new contract in parallel. Sanidad is running a similar procedure for the aircraft.

The aircraft contract began on 1 October 2022 and ran for four years, with an option for one more year. Whether it was extended is not confirmed.

Nobody has yet published dates, contract values or the names of the replacement firms. The only official comment comes from spokespeople who stay unnamed.