Helicopter air ambulance provider Swiss Air Rescue Rega logged a record number of patient transports in 2022. Rega’s fleet of 20 helicopters transported 14,000 patients over the course of 20,992 missions, a 16.5 percent increase from 2021. The brisk tempo translated to 58 missions for each 24-hour period. Missions outran patient transports because Rega also flies a variety of non-patient missions, transporting mountain rescuers and providing assistance to mountain farmers. 

Rega operates from 14 bases in Switzerland and its activities are coordinated by its national air rescue center. Helicopter mission growth was driven in part by a 7.1 percent increase in hospital transfers, to 3,057, and an above-average number of VFR days last year, according to the company. 

Similarly, Rega said its patient repatriations, either aboard commercial aircraft or Rega’s three jets, increased by 21.8 percent, assisting 1,045 patients. Rega attributed the increase to the re-opening of international travel following the Covid pandemic.