Riigikogu changing law to prevent emergency PPA helicopter flight ban
Riigikogu members are working to quickly change the law to allow border guard helicopters to continue making emergency flights before a potential ban enters into force in April. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) first reported its concerns almost a decade ago.
The Estonian ambulance service does not have any helicopters and emergency flights are carried out by the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) instead. The agency must follow strict legislation which is not in place in Estonia.
EASA first raised the issue nine years ago. Last year, Estonia was told if the issues are not sorted by April 2024 helicopters may be denied flight permits.
"The state had not declared whether it wants to follow civil aviation rules when carrying out police and law enforcement tasks and whether it wants to make any concessions to these rules," Veiko Kommusaar, head of PPA's border guard unit, told Tuesday's "Aktuaalne kaamera".
The bill has now passed its second reading and specifies which rules PPA aircraft will be managed, owned, and repaired under.
"They will be subject to all the same requirements, the rules that apply to civil aviation and, for the work that the PPA carries out, ranging from border surveillance, surveillance flights, law enforcement tasks, they will be subject to specific requirements laid down in a specific regulation," Kommusaar explained.
It is hoped the draft will be passed next week after its third and final reading.
But some MPs are still not satisfied. Riigikogu member Toomas Uibo (Eesti 200) said he is not convinced taxpayers are getting value for money. "The PPA air unit performs very different tasks, and if there is, let's say, one call to an accident site, but other tasks take up that time, you cannot get to the scene fast enough," he said.
The government mulled buying new helicopters for the emergency services several years ago but has now abandoned the plan.
Minister of Health Riina Sikkut (SDE) said: "We have had relatively little need to fly so far – we are talking about 100 patients a year – and the number of hours flown is so small that no pilot can keep a qualification or make a living flying helicopters alone."
Currently, PPA helicopters can take off within 15 minutes between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. A 24/7 rapid response unit will launch in the summer of 2025.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Helen Wright
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera
