Rega 6: Base in Ticino

The Rega base in Italian-speaking Switzerland lies in the middle of the Magadino plain, in the heart of the canton of Ticino. It was founded in 1980 and encompasses a highly challenging operational area.

Originally, the base comprised a rented hangar, an Alouette III helicopter and two pilots. In 1982, the crew moved into their own building, with a separate hangar and a conference and training room. In 1995, the base took delivery of an Agusta A 109 K2 twin-engine rescue helicopter.

Since 2010, a mountain helicopter, the AgustaWestland Da Vinci, has been in operation here. In the meantime, the crew at the Ticino base fly over 600 missions a year.

Intimate knowledge of the area

The greater part of Italian-speaking Switzerland extends over rough terrain, which poses difficulties not just for normal flight operations, but also for air-rescue missions. As a result, a thorough knowledge of the numerous valleys, gorges, rock faces, alps and expanses of water is of vital importance.

Principally missions in the mountains

The majority of the missions carried out by Rega’s Ticino base involve ski accidents, as well as rescue hoist operations in the mountains and from lakes and rivers. The number of operations performed in response to road and occupational accidents is continually on the increase.


The operational area of this helicopter base, which is situated in the municipality of Gordola, also encompasses the Italian-speaking Misox region of Graubünden, through to the San Bernadino and the Calanca Valley. Cross-border missions into neighbouring Italy are also not uncommon.

Further information

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