In 2024, Rega helicopters flew fewer missions due to the weather. (symbolic image)
Keystone
Swiss Air-Rescue flew just under 20,000 missions in 2024. It transported an average of 35 patients per day. Compared to the previous year, the number of missions fell by 4.7 percent.
Keystone-SDA
03.02.2025, 11:30
SDA
The rescue helicopters were in the air slightly less, while the ambulance jets were in the air more, as Rega announced on Monday. Compared to the five-year average, there was an increase of 6.1 percent last year. On average, Rega's flight coordinators organized 54 rescue missions per 24 hours.
In the year under review, Rega's aircraft transported 12,847 patients, 6 percent fewer than in the previous year. This does not tally with the mission figures, which is due to the fact that several people fly on the same mission. Added to this are the flights with mountain rescuers from the Swiss Alpine Club and livestock transports for agriculture.
Fluctuations due to the weather
In 2024, 14,714 helicopter flights were flown, 6.3 percent fewer than in the previous year. Both rescue and transfer flights between hospitals decreased. According to Rega, the decline in rescue flights reflects the natural fluctuation due to weather conditions and leisure activities. For example, the summer season started late due to the rainy spring.
In the summer itself, the severe storms in the Misox and Maggia valleys and in Brienz BE led to an increase in missions. The unstable weather in September and October, on the other hand, caused flights to drop by a quarter.
Rega's three ambulance jets flew 1,033 missions, 1.2 percent more than in 2023, bringing 1,029 people with medical problems to Switzerland. The Rega Centre organized a flight home for 319 people under medical supervision on scheduled flights, a decrease of 5.6 percent.
Rega's services abroad were used by 2,552 people. This was 3.6 percent more than in 2023. The medical consultants assisted 1,204 people, while repatriation was necessary in 1,348 cases.