German air rescue DRF Luftrettung saw a 4 percent increase in air rescue missions in 2018, with night missions increasing 20 percent from the prior year, the company reported. Its crews were dispatched 40,090 times for air rescue missions in 2018.
Of those missions, 300 used the organization's two air ambulance jets, which were dispatched to 48 countries during the period. In all, DRF Luftrettung operates 31 helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) bases in Germany and Austria. DRF Luftrettung’s Austrian bases in Tyrol and Carinthia, where it operates as ARA Flugrettung, have in the past year been outfitted with Airbus H145s to operate in the high-altitude regions of the Alps.
Helicopter night operations have become an area of specialization for the service, with special modifications of its fleet including high-intensity searchlights; two instrument-rated pilots using night-vision goggles; and, satellite navigation with digital maps. “We set the highest standards for all parts of our work,” DRF Luftrettung chairman Peter Huber said.