In 1975, Swiss Air-Rescue (SAR) contacted the Lausanne municipal authorities with a view to building a new helicopter base at La Blécherette Airport. On 2 November 1979, city councillor Jean-Pascal Delamuraz signed an agreement placing at Rega’s disposal a suitable plot of land for a helicopter base. Not long after, a bright-red Alouette III flew its first primary missions in Canton Vaud.
Inauguration of the first base
A temporary building complete with hangar, offices and sleeping quarters was officially inaugurated on 24 June 1981. Since then, Rega’s Lausanne base has provided a 24-hour standby service with its three teams, each comprising a pilot, paramedic and flight physician. The medical staff are supplied by the University Hospital Center of Vaud (CHUV). In December 1992, the Alouette III was replaced by a newer helicopter model, the Agusta A 109 K2. Between April 2003 and the beginning of 2019, the crew from the Lausanne base flew with the reliable and spacious EC 145.
New base as a 30th birthday present
Cramped conditions, almost 30 years in «provisional» facilities and a change in the airport zone plan called for a new building to accommodate the Rega helicopter base. In November 2009, just in time for its 30th anniversary, the Lausanne crew moved into their new base at the northern end of the airport runway. Since then, a CHUV physician has also been permanently stationed here.
Welcome to the H145
Since the beginning of March 2019, the crew at Rega’s Lausanne base, too, have been deploying the new Airbus Helicopters H145 rescue helicopter. This latest-generation helicopter was presented to the public at an Open Day event on 11 May.
Varied scope of operations
The missions performed by the Lausanne base include road and sports accidents, interhospital transfer flights and the transport of organs. The rescue helicopter flies to locations in both urban and rural areas, in the mountains, and on and by the water. Assisted by its operation partners – rescue, police and fire services and many others – the Lausanne base flies more than 900 missions per year.
