Loulé is set to open its newly expanded Municipal Heliport, home to a Permanent Helicopter Service Base (BHSP), which has been open uninterruptedly since 1998. The inauguration will take place on Monday, October 27 at 3.30pm, led by Rui Rocha, Secretary of State for Civil Protection.
The base is a key hub for both the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) and the National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM), supporting emergency and rescue operations around the clock by providing air support for firefighting, medical transport, and civil protection missions across the south of Portugal.
The €3 million expansion, co-funded by the EU’s INTERREG V-A cross-border programme under the CILIFO (Iberian Centre for the Investigation and Fight Against Wildfires) project, significantly upgrades the base’s operational capacity, the local council says in a statement to the press. The expanded heliport can now handle up to five helicopters at once, and includes a new hangar for larger aircraft while also offering expanded fuel, maintenance, and crew accommodation facilities.
With these improvements, Loulé’s heliport now offers “unique regional conditions for hosting emergency and civil protection air operations”, the local authority says, adding that the upgrade also opens the door for the possible return of the Helicopter for Rescue and Assistance (HESA) service, suspended since 2018 and described as vital for providing quick emergency responses in southern Portugal.
The upgrade is part of a wider plan to improve emergency air operations in the region, alongside new air centres in Monchique and Cachopo (Tavira). These projects also aim to strengthen cooperation with neighbouring Andalusia, Spain.
According to Loulé’s local government, the expansion goes beyond improving infrastructure and shows the municipality’s ongoing commitment to public safety and teamwork between multiple institutions and agencies.
