Eliance's contract requires the company to restore helicopter cover within 12 hours if an aircraft breaks down or service stops. Yet the Lozoyuela-based helicopter had been out of action for days, and on Thursday the other aircraft was also unavailable. Eliance won the five-year contract in September 2023. It is worth almost €24 million, or about €4 million a year, for helicopters serving the Lozoyuela and Las Rozas bases.
The Las Rozas helicopter flew on Wednesday, then went into maintenance the following day. It had been covering emergencies alone while the Lozoyuela helicopter was grounded from Sunday, 1 November. That aircraft could not fly because its pilots had not completed the simulator training required to renew their flight qualifications every six months. A member of the medical team said Eliance had not given the Lozoyuela pilots access to the simulator. Summa 112 confirmed they could not fly. The regional administration expected the Las Rozas aircraft to return to service within 24 hours, by Friday, 6 November.
That left the region without either helicopter for all of Thursday, 5 November. The aircraft respond to emergencies such as serious road crashes and mountain rescues. They also handle medical calls in villages where road access can delay a response. A member of the medical team said two simultaneous incidents could force dispatchers to prioritise one call if only one helicopter were available.
The regional government says it will assess the aircraft downtime and impose sanctions. The stated penalties range from €6,000 to €10,000 for each day an aircraft is grounded. The contract also requires the operator to restore cover within a maximum of 12 hours after an aircraft becomes unavailable. Eliance secured the five-year contract in September 2023. It is worth almost €24 million to the company, or about €4 million a year.
The disruption comes as Eliance faces insolvency proceedings. The company sought pre-insolvency protection in early October and entered creditor proceedings later that month. It recorded losses of more than €23 million in 2025, about twice its 2024 losses, according to reporting by Forbes España. The financial problems have affected other aviation operations. CC OO reported that aircraft assigned to Málaga and Sevilla stopped flying in early October. It also said aircraft based in Santiago de Compostela were grounded. A separate DGT contract awarded in September 2025 to a temporary consortium linked to Eliance was valued at €51,140,453.94 and had an initial term of 38 months.
Madrid's regional government denies that the service will be cut to one helicopter. A spokesperson said the government's position was to make no cuts in this area and that it was preparing a new tender as quickly as possible. The administration is also assessing the downtime and applying contractual sanctions where appropriate. It described the aviation sector as small, with few companies providing these services. Madrid's wider development plans include a planned Valdecarros retail centre, a separate project with no stated connection to the helicopter contract.
Eliance's financial difficulties extend beyond Madrid. The company operates in Italy and Croatia, and reported losses of more than €23 million for 2025, double its 2024 figure. Earlier in the year, the CNMC opened an investigation into Eliance, Avincis and Pegasus over possible coordination in public tenders for emergency aviation, including firefighting and rescue. The investigation is ongoing and concerns alleged coordination; it is not a finding of liability.
Madrid has seen service interruptions before. In September 2024, the Lozoyuela helicopter remained grounded for more than three weeks during repairs, according to Eliance. That year the regional government opened more than 30 penalty proceedings against the company for service failures, according to a parliamentary response to Más Madrid. The response also recorded several hours on 16 May 2024 when neither helicopter was operational. Forbes España also reported approximately €129,000 in earlier Madrid sanctions related to firefighting helicopters being out of service. In Catalonia, another company was operating four medical helicopters provisionally, with a definitive procurement potentially delayed until 2027.
