ADAC air rescue and helicopter celebrates 40 years of service

At a small ceremony in the hangar of Christoph 20 on 17 September, representatives of ADAC Luftrettung paid tribute to the work of the flying ‘Yellow Angels’. To date, they have flown more than 55,000 life-saving missions in the region.

With the commissioning of Christoph 20 at the old Bayreuth Municipal Hospital on 16 November 1981, ADAC Luftrettung took over air rescue services in Upper Franconia. Despite planned austerity measures, the city of Bayreuth made the location available at the time to ensure emergency medical care. In the very first year, the crew flew 614 missions. Six years later, the crew and helicopters move to the new station at the then-newly built Bayreuth Clinic.

It's the Ruby anniversary, so you know

Closely linked to the 40-year success story of Christoph 20 and the Upper Franconian rescue service system has been the BRK Rescue Coordination Centre Bayreuth from the very beginning. It went into operation in April 1980 and has been operated by the district association since 2008.

Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of ADAC Luftrettung, praised the good cooperation with BRK at the ceremony. "In Bayreuth, everyone is pulling in the same direction. We have reliable, competent and highly professional partners here.”

Christoph 20 is an Airbus EC135 aircraft. It replaced the old BO105 helicopter model in 2002. The great advantages of the helicopter are its operating speed of around 230 km/h and its independence from difficult road or traffic conditions.

Meanwhile, the ADAC Luftrettung air rescue station Saarbrücken and its rescue helicopter Christoph 16 celebrated its 25th anniversary in July 2021.