Overall, Rega transports between 1,700 and 3,000 snow sports enthusiasts to hospital after an accident. Generally speaking, the number of missions the helicopter crews fly reflect the meteorological conditions, the leisure activities and travel behaviour of both the population and foreign tourists in Switzerland and are thus subject to natural fluctuations. Rega is alerted for only around 1-2 percent of all winter sports accidents in Switzerland.

By far the largest number of Rega patients are skiers and snowboarders who have injured themselves on the slopes.

In winter sports regions, the piste rescue service employees are often the first to reach the accident site. They play a central role in the rescue chain:

• They alert Rega, provide first aid and secure the site.

• The ski patrol officers on site decide which means of rescue is the fastest and most appropriate, e.g. a rescue helicopter or transport by rescue sledge to the cable car and then by ambulance to the hospital.

• They select a safe landing place, may block off the slope and handle directing the helicopter.

Most Rega missions after an accident on the slopes (around 85% in the 2024/2025 season) were due to the ski patrol officers alerting Rega.

Rega operates a network of 14 bases throughout Switzerland. In the event of a large number of missions, Rega's national Air Rescue Center plays a special role. There, the flight coordinators organise the missions – which are often taking place simultaneously – in various regions and ensure that the nearest suitable helicopter crew is always summoned, while keeping an eye on all current missions, so that medical assistance by air can be provided for the patients as quickly as possible. The Rega flight coordinators also support the crews during the missions and, for example, liaise with the ski patrol officers on the ground or notify the destination hospital of the patient’s imminent arrival.

On days or in weeks when many missions are flown – such as between Christmas and New Year or during the winter sports holidays – Rega adapts its staffing requirements according to the situation to ensure that medical assistance by air can also be provided quickly even with high demand:

• Extra staff is allocated to the Rega Operations Center.

• An additional helicopter crew with a rescue helicopter is stationed at each of the Rega bases in Untervaz and Wilderswil. The radio call signs for the additional crews are “Rega 16” in Untervaz and “Rega 17” in Wilderswil.

In addition to organisational preparations, the helicopter crews and flight coordinators prepare thoroughly for the winter season. This includes theoretical refreshers on avalanche missions, practical search and rescue training with LVS avalanche transceivers (for searching for people buried under an avalanche) and RECCO reflectors as well as joint training and education sequences with piste rescue services.

In winter, the helicopters carry additional equipment:

• An LVS with external antenna

• A RECCO detector for searches from the helicopter

• Additional avalanche material (probes, shovels)

Moreover, the avalanche bulletin becomes a key part of the daily briefing.

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