German air rescue operator DRF Luftrettung has flown 19,525 missions in the first six months of 2015 from its 30 bases in central Europe, eight of which have round-the-clock operations. It carries out emergency rescue along with the transportation of intensive care patients between clinics, and also flies two air ambulances for repatriations worldwide. It repatriated 91 injured or seriously ill patients during the first six months of 2015.

Within Germany the company has flown a total of 18,413 HEMS missions, with heart attacks, strokes and accidents the most frequent alarms; ten per cent of its HEMS missions arose due to car accidents.

In addition to emergency rescue alerts, 24 per cent of missions in Germany involved intensive care transports between clinics such as caring for patients with respiratory distress syndrome or patients suffering from specific heart illnesses.

ARA Flugrettung, an Austrian HEMS organisation which belongs to DRF, flew 1,011 missions in the first six months of the year, up from the 877 it flew in the same period in 2014. In the high seasons in summer and winter, operations in mountainous areas are frequent; the helicopters based in Tyrol and Carinthia are equipped with a cable winch which is used for rescue operations in alpine terrain.

The operator is also one of the first in the world to enter the H145 into service. The aircraft is well-suited to air rescue missions, owing to its performance and Fenestron tail rotor, which enhances safety considerably during night work. DRF currently operates three of the type and expects to take delivery of more units in the near future.