In 2023, Rega’s Operations Center organised a total of 20,647 missions, which is 1.6 percent less than in the record year 2022. The flight coordinators organised on average 57 missions per 24-hour period. The mission numbers for last year were 15.7 percent higher than the five-year average and correspond to the second highest in Rega’s history.

Rega helped 37 patients per day

Last year, the Rega crews transported a total of 13,674 patients (-3.8 %) on board its aircraft and thus helped an average of 37 patients per day. The number of patients and missions do not concur because on Rega missions several patients may be transported at the same time, for example, or search flights are performed without any patients at all. Furthermore, among other things, the Rega Operations Center also organises missions for the mountain rescuers from the Swiss Alpine Club SAC, as well as livestock transports on behalf of Swiss mountain farmers.

Fewer helicopter missions compared with the record year

The helicopter flight coordinators at Rega’s national air rescue coordination centre organise the missions carried out by the 14 Rega bases countrywide, as well as those flown by its partner organisations. Last year, they coordinated a total of 15,695 helicopter missions, 3.5 percent less than in the record year 2022. A small drop was registered by both the rescue missions by the helicopter crews at the incident site (9,282, -5.4 %) and the amount of transfer flights from smaller hospitals to central ones (2,993, -2.1 %). This slight decline shows that the number of missions performed by the Rega helicopters is subject to natural fluctuations and reflects, among other things, the weather conditions and the leisure activities of people in Switzerland.

Medical assistance abroad

Rega comes to the aid of people in distress not only in Switzerland, but also all over the world. In the past year, a total of 2,464 persons experiencing medical problems abroad made use of Rega’s services. Its medical consultants provided 1,111 persons (+2.1 %) with medical advice over the phone, while repatriation was indicated for 1,353 patients. In such cases, Rega arranges for patients who have become seriously ill or injured abroad to be flown back home to Switzerland on board one of Rega’s three ambulance jets or on a scheduled aircraft accompanied by a member of Rega’s medical staff. In 2023, the Rega jets took to the air almost as frequently as in the previous year: the Rega crews flew a total of 1,021 missions (-2.4 %) and repatriated 1,015 patients on board its ambulance jets (-2.9 %). The Jet Operations Center also organised a flight on board a scheduled aircraft for 338 persons (+45 %). This cost-effective and ecological alternative to the ambulance jet is employed provided that the patient’s medical condition is sufficiently stable, that this form of transport is not expected to have a negative impact on other passengers, and that there are enough seats available on board the plane. The number of repatriations also fluctuates from year to year, and the frequency of flights by Rega’s ambulance jets varies depending on the travel and work activities of the Swiss population abroad.