Bulgaria Heli Med Services successfully carried out its first patient transport mission with the medical helicopter. After a signal from the Emergency Medical Center for air transport of a patient from Shumen to Sofia, the helicopter with a crew of two pilots — Valeri Shopov and Yulian Bogoev, took off at 8.02 am from Sofia and arrived in Shumen at 9.42 am, with an intermediate landing in Gorna Oryahovitsa for refuelling.
At 10.05 a.m. the machine flew from Shumen back to Sofia with the patient on board and landed at the hospital heliport of St. Ekaterina Hospital at around 11.20 a.m. The distance of about 300 km by air was covered in 75 minutes.
Bulgaria Heli Med Services EAD is in full readiness for HEMS missions. Recall that in March 2024, the company was granted an Air Operator Certificate to carry out emergency air ambulance operations. There are already 8 hospital airports in the country and 5 more are in advanced stages of registration.
