DRF Luftrettung releases semi-annual stats
DRF Luftrettung has released its air ambulance figures for the first half of 2012, which show that the air rescue organisation flew a total of 19,667 missions, including helicopter transports from the service’s 31 helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) bases in Germany, Austria and Denmark, as well as worldwide repatriations with fixed-wing ambulance planes. This total represents an increase of two per cent compared to the same period of 2011.
DRF Luftrettung has released its air ambulance figures for the first half of 2012, which show that the air rescue organisation flew a total of 19,667 missions, including helicopter transports from the service’s 31 helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) bases in Germany, Austria and Denmark, as well as worldwide repatriations with fixed-wing ambulance planes. This total represents an increase of two per cent compared to the same period of 2011.
In Germany, DRF Luftrettung’s familiar red and white helicopters were alerted to 18,139 missions, a three-per-cent rise on the figure for the first half of 2011 (17,632 missions). The Danish HEMS base in Ringsted, which is operated by Falck DRF Luftambulance A/S, was alerted 387 times. In the same period, the two Austrian rescue helicopters of the ARA-Flugrettungs GmbH (owned by DRF Luftrettung) were also in high demand: the crews in Reutte, Tyrol, and Fresach, Carinthia, completed 836 missions altogether (including 77 ground ambulance missions).
Turning to international fixed-wing ambulance flights, DRF Luftrettung, together with Luxembourg Air Rescue, conducted 305 repatriations under the name of European Air Ambulance. These repatriation flights were co-ordinated by the companies’ respective alert centres in Luxembourg and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Germany.
Photo: Library image of a DRF Luftrettung EC135 / DRF Luftrettung