site.btaItalian Manufacturer Faces BGN 500,000-Plus in Penalties Due to Further Delays in Delivery of Medical Helicopters

Italian company Leonardo S.p.A. has formally notified Bulgaria’s Health Ministry of a new delay in the delivery of the second and third medical helicopters to this country, the Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

The new deadlines set by the manufacturer are end-February 2025 for the second helicopter and end-March 2025 for the third helicopter. The company warns that the deadlines may not be made due to critical delays in the delivery of key components for their assembly.

The second helicopter is currently undergoing flight trials, while the third is about 60% assembled on the production line.

According to the concluded delivery contract, the second helicopter was supposed to be delivered to Bulgaria by the end of June 2024 and the third one by the end of December 2024. The manufacturer has missed the deadlines twice, notifying the Health Ministry by formal letters in May and October.

At present, the delay is expected to be 183 days for the second helicopter and 90 days for the third. If the latest delivery deadlines are met, the manufacturer will face penalties of over BGN 500,000, the press release added.

On February 1, 2024, the first helicopter of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service arrived in Bulgaria. The helicopter is the first of six machines Bulgaria is to receive, and the country is expected to make a request for two more. Six operational bases of the future air ambulance system are to be built on the territory of Bulgaria.