Spanish helicopter and aerial-services operator Eliance has entered preliminary creditor protection after recording a net loss of approximately €24 million in 2025, double the previous year’s figure. Revenue remained near €54 million. The move affects an operator providing firefighting, emergency medical, search-and-rescue and maintenance services in Spain, Italy and Croatia, including helicopter operations for Spain’s Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT).
Eliance’s board informed its approximately 230 employees that the procedure was intended to protect the business and preserve operational continuity. Its future will depend on negotiations with creditors and other stakeholders; the filing does not itself constitute formal insolvency proceedings.
The financial strain has raised concerns over public-service operations. CCOO claims that DGT helicopters based in Málaga, Seville and Santiago de Compostela have stopped flying, potentially reducing aerial traffic surveillance in several areas of Spain. The union’s claim has not been independently confirmed. The DGT contract, awarded for more than €51 million, covers the agency’s helicopter patrol operation.
Eliance also remains involved in Galicia’s 061 air-ambulance service while authorities work towards a replacement tender following earlier contractual difficulties. In February, the Catalan government terminated or rescinded a contract over alleged service-agreement breaches. The company was also among operators inspected by Spain’s competition authority in January as part of an unresolved investigation into possible bid-rigging in public emergency, firefighting, medical-transport and rescue tenders.