Zurich: increased activity at Rega
Compared to the rather quiet Christmas days, Rega faced more demands over the long New Year’s weekend.
From 30 December 2022 up to and including 2 January 2023, the Rega crews were deployed more than 170 times, more than 60 of them at night or when visibility was difficult.
The missions over the turn of the year cover Rega’s wide range of missions: the crews were on duty for patients with acute illnesses, as well as for traffic, work and winter sports accidents. More than a third of all helicopter missions took place at night and seven missions could only be carried out thanks to instrument flights.
Rega was well prepared for the increased activity: Among other things, two additional rescue helicopters were deployed – one in the canton of Graubünden and another in the Bernese Oberland.
Several instrument flights due to bad weather
On New Year’s Eve, the crew from the Rega base in Locarno were able to fly a pregnant woman from Bellinzona to Zurich because she was able to cross the Gotthard despite poor visibility thanks to instrument flight procedures. The instrument flight over the Gotthard is part of Rega’s Low Flight Network (LFN), a Switzerland-wide network of instrument flight routes.
The LFN connects airfields, hospitals and Rega bases with each other and also enables cases of poor visibility because the helicopter follows a flight route calculated in the on-board computer.
Missions with SAC specialists
On numerous missions throughout Switzerland, the Rega crews take a mountain rescuer from the Swiss Alpine Club SAC on board. These rescue specialists are deployed when the Rega crew needs support in difficult terrain.
In Andermatt (UR) and on Monte Lema (TI), for example, thanks to the support of these specialists, the Rega crews were able to evacuate people in need from impassable terrain.
Several assignments abroad
Rega’s ambulance jets were also in the air on the first weekend of the year. The Rega crews were on duty for patients in Spain, Thailand and the Seychelles.
On scheduled flights from South Africa and Greece, the Rega crews provided medical care to sick or seriously injured patients and accompanied them on their way home.
Rega media service