Second group of South African firefighters ferried to Canada

The second group of South African firefighters left Nelspruit (MQP, South Africa) on the 14th of June to join the ongoing fire fighting efforts currently underway in Canada. The group consisted of 200 firefighters and 13 managers.

“We are proud of the fact that South Africa is again able to assist Canadian firefighting teams in their battle to bring the wildfires under control. The extensive experience and training of these firefighters will significantly enhance efforts to effectively suppress and manage the wildfires in Alberta,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, said on Monday.

Unlike the first group which flew to Canada using a chartered Boeing 787-8 aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines, the second group flew onboard an Airbus A340-300 chartered from Hifly. The aircraft left Nelspruit at 1909HRS and flew for 10 hours and 16 minutes before making a technical stop in Lisbon (LIS, Portugal) which lasted for 2 hours and 24 minutes. The final leg of the journey from Lisbon to Alberta (YEG, Canada) took 9 hours and 5 minutes. Total travel time from South Africa to Canada was 21 hours and 45 minutes.

For information on the route and time the Ethiopian Airlines charter flight took, click here.