Swiss Air Rescue Rega organised a total of 16,273 missions last year. While its Airbus H145 and AgustaWestland Da Vinci rescue helicopters were in the air more often than in the previous year, its Challenger 650 ambulance jets recorded significantly fewer missions. In addition to its operational activities, Rega supported the Swiss authorities in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. This was made possible by Rega's 3.625 million patrons, a net increase of 73,000 people compared to the previous year.

The organisation can look back on an intensive year of operations: in 2020, its operations centre organised 16,273 missions at home and abroad. That is three per cent less than last year. The number of patients treated has remained almost unchanged at 11,134, down just -0.3 per cent. On average, Rega's crews helped 31 patients a day. The number of patients and the number of missions are not the same because, for example, several patients may be on board during Rega missions, search flights take place without patient transport and the Rega operations centre also carries out missions organised by the mountain rescuers of the Swiss Alpine Club SAC or animal transports for the benefit of mountain agriculture.

More in demand than in the previous year were the helicopter crews, who set off on their missions around the clock from twelve bases across Switzerland and one partner base. With 13,253 (+ 8.1 per cent) missions, the helicopter operations centre organised more missions than ever before. Both rescue operations at the scene of the incident (7,774, +5.6 per cent) and the number of transfer flights from hospital to hospital (2,614, +9.8 per cent) increased. In principle, the rescue helicopter's operations are subject to natural fluctuations. The figures from 2020 reflect, among other things, the good weather conditions in summer and autumn as well as the leisure behaviour of the Swiss population.

Rega offers assistance not only in Switzerland, but worldwide. It ensures that sick or accident patients abroad can be flown to their home country with medical care in one of its three Challenger 650 ambulance jets or in a scheduled aircraft. In 2020, international travel almost completely came to a standstill due to the pandemic. As a result, Rega repatriated significantly fewer patients from abroad than in the previous year: of the 758 patients repatriated (-43.6 per cent), 647 were on board a Rega jet (-33.4 per cent) and 111 on a scheduled aircraft (-70.2 per cent). Although Rega's jets flew fewer missions, they were in the air longer overall than in the previous year. The reason for the higher number of flight hours (4,589, + 3.2 per cent) were missions in distant countries.

On 11 March 2020, the first confirmed COVID-19 patient was transported on board a Rega helicopter in Ticino. By the end of 2020, Rega had transported a total of 456 infected patients on board its aircraft: 316 of them in rescue helicopters and 140 on board an ambulance jet. Rega also took on additional tasks during the pandemic: it supports the Swiss Confederation, the cantons and the Swiss population in various ways in coping with the pandemic with know-how and infrastructure.