Rega’s July figures break record
Swiss search and rescue (SAR) and air ambulance provider Rega flew a record number of missions in July, according to its latest figures
The organization flew a total of 2,120 helicopter missions last month – the first time that the number of flights has exceeded the threshold of 2,000 missions in one month.
Rega previously recorded record figures in its 2021 annual figures, which reported a total of 14,330 missions organized by its national Operations Center. Despite this, over the past six months, its helicopters have flown 25 per cent more missions than during the same period in 2021 – suggesting that the annual figures for 2022 could rise to almost 18,000 missions.
Growing interest in hiking and mountaineering since the pandemic are a key factor relating to the increase, however the effects of climate change, in particular melting permafrost leading to increased rockfalls, has also contributed to the figure.
Rega’s CEO, Ernst Kohler, argued that this increase was not an outlier, but rather the continuation of an ongoing trend: “Ten years ago, a 1,000-flight month was remarkable for us.”