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Uber die DRF
Luftrettung

Uber die DRF
Luftrettung

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Do you need an ambulance flight?

Contact us and we will take care of everything else - highly professionally and reliably.

Operation center

Ambulance flights: Service as professional as it is comprehensive

We fly injured or sick holidaymakers, business travellers and company employees on our own ambulance aircraft, our own helicopters or chartered or scheduled flights safely for further treatment, accompanied by our highly experienced staff. 

You tell us about your upcoming transport needs and we take care of all the rest. Thanks to our in-house mission coordinators and ambulance aircraft as well as our medical operations, we offer individual and comprehensive services under one roof. This is how we ensure fast and seamless transport. We coordinate your cooperation with potential ground partners for you, too.

Our services in the field of air ambulance operations

  • Evacuation and repatriation by ambulance aircraft

    A man stands in front of his workplace in the DRF Luftrettung operations center

    The expert staff at our Operation Center are available round the clock. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

     

    Our services 

    We assess the exact diagnosis and the patient’s ability for transport.  
    We organise entry, landing and overflight permits. 
    We coordinate all details with local authorities and hospitals. 
    Our Learjets can also take off within 2 hours for global rescue missions and intensive-care transport.

     

    High-level experience concentrated in the cockpit and cabin

    The crews on our ambulance aircraft fulfil the highest expectations of quality and meet national and international education standards.

     

    A boy lies on the stretcher of an air ambulance and is cared for by a paramedic
    Our medical and aviation crews are heavily committed to each one of our repatriations,
    ensuring that their patient is transported safely and comfortably. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

     

    Our Learjet crews always include:

    • 1 captain
    • 1 co-pilot
    • 1 doctor
    • 1 paramedic

    Our medical crews always have the latest information about country-specific flight and travel conditions and tropical medicine. Moreover, they are also experts in the field of modern infectious disease. 

    Our experienced mission coordinators possess excellent foreign-language skills and flight operation expertise. Thanks to their geopolitical knowledge, they can gauge the situation in destination countries and take precautions accordingly.

     

    Global evacuation and repatriation with ambulance aircraft

    What is special with us is that we coordinate and carry out the complete transport process. Consequently, we guarantee the highest quality and reliability.

  • Intensive-care transport by helicopter

    If requested, we also transport patients within Germany and across borders using our helicopters. You can rely on the extensive experience of 530 emergency physicians, 190 paramedics, 200 pilots and 160 technicians. ‘Christoph Weser’ and ‘Christoph Dortmund’ in particular are used for such missions. Thanks to our subsidiary company, we also have access to a network of helicopters stretching from the North Sea to Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

     
    A red and white rescue helicopter flies behind a learjet
    Our services include finding the most-appropriate mode of transport for you each time.
    We also make use of the helicopters in the DRF Luftrettung fleet. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)
  • Land transport

    If an ambulance flight is unnecessary or not desired, we organise land-based transport using an appropriate vehicle to repatriate patients from neighbouring countries.

    Our patients’ well-being is our top priority during these transport missions, too. Among other things, we make sure that the relevant vehicle’s configuration is the optimal fit for transporting our patient safely and reliably. We also coordinate the admission to a hospital at the destination.

  • Charter and scheduled flights

    Charter flights

    What happens if your family member, employee or clients is in a country far away and needs to go to hospital urgently? We are there by your side for these times as well. We organise an ambulance flight with one of our global partners using the fastest way possible.

    Once your patient has stabilised and received initial care, we fly him or her to their destination using our aircraft or organise a scheduled commercial flight there for you.

     

    Scheduled flights

    When the patient’s state does not warrant an ambulance aircraft, we can also offer to transport him or her on a scheduled, commercial aircraft – and we take care of everything else:

    • Suitable seat on plane
      • Sitting
      • Lying
      • Patient transport compartment (PTC) for intensive care
    • Accompaniment by one of our doctors or paramedics
    • Booking of tickets
    • Passenger medical clearance form (MEDA)
    • Ground transport to/from airport
    • Hospital admission at destination
  • Medical evaluation and verification

    We also offer you our medical expertise and advice separately of all other services when discussing and evaluating missions – for example, when the patient is in a highly critical condition or the client has insufficient medical expertise. You can reach our doctor at the Operation Center round the clock 365 days per year.

     

    Our services:

    • Evaluation of medical reports
    • Extensive discussions with the doctor at the current hospital – including in particular the patient’s condition and treatment conditions at the current hospital
    • Medical recommendation:
      • Can the patient be transported?
      • Which mode of transport should be chosen based on the condition?
      • What should be noted for transport from a medical perspective?

    Whether a family member or business client, we provide extensive advice about your options – for the well-being of the patient.

  • Transport at sea level

    Some illnesses or injuries require that changes in air pressure are avoided at all costs. In such conditions, significant changes in pressure may lead to air pockets in the body growing larger and oxygen consumption increasing. For example, this is the case with:

    • Lung disease such as severe pneumonia
    • Pneumothorax (air in the cavity between the lungs and the chest wall)
    • Anaemia (lowered haemoglobin concentration in the blood)
    • Fresh wounds after an operation

    These cases call for flying at sea level. Our aviation and medical crews have extensive experience in operating such flights. If the patient’s medical condition requires it, our crew flies at a lower level while also taking corresponding measures to adjust the cabin pressure to be optimal for the situation. This combined with our on-board equipment for intensive care means that we can also transport patients safely, quickly and expertly on sea level flights.

  • Blood and organ transport

    Things need to move quickly when blood or organs are being transported. Thanks to our large fleet of ambulance aircraft and helicopters as well as our international network of highly competent partners, we constantly stand ready for these transport missions with minimal notice needed. You can of course also talk to our Operation Center about this round the clock 365 days per year. Accordingly, our highly qualified team ensures that vital organ transfers and urgent blood and plasma product transport run quickly and reliably.

Our years of experience are your benefit

Benefit from the experience that we have gained from 50 years of global patient transport. In just the last five years alone, we have conducted over 1,100 patient repatriations. Equipped with two Learjets and over 50 helicopters at 40 bases in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and in Switzerland, we provide help where we are needed reliably and expertly. We receive support from a robust network of excellent and cooperative partners. We select these partners extremely carefully based on the highest quality standards. This is how we bring our patients back home safely and reliably from all corners of the earth.

 

Optimal patient transport: how it works

A graphic representation of the patient transport process

You can rely on DRF Luftrettung to be an expert partner for your repatriation. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

 
 

1. You alert our Operation Center by calling +49 711 7007 3010.

2. We advise you on how to proceed and make a record of your case.

3. a) In a doctor-to-doctor conversation, our medical service examines your patient’s diagnosis and suitability for transport and recommends the optimal method for repatriation. This could be an ambulance flight or helicopter, or scheduled commercial flights or land-based vehicles.

3. b) In parallel, our mission coordinators organise all the actions required and make arrangements with local authorities and hospitals abroad.

4. Our crew operates the flight and oversees the patient’s transport from hospital bed to hospital bed.

 

In the air quickly and safely with ultra-modern medical technology

Thanks to the ultra-modern medical technology in all of our aeroplanes and helicopters, we ensure that our patients’ condition and treatment are constantly monitored from start to finish. The crew can intervene in a patient’s treatment at any stage of transport – even when flying on one of our Learjets.

An emergency doctor turns the dial of a ventilator attached to the patient cabin of a helicopter

Ventilation

We offer multiple options for ventilation: a portable intensive-care ventilator, non-invasive ventilation possibilities, oxygen inhalation or suction pumps. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

Two syringe drivers stand on a wooden floor

Circulation

We can provide optimal stabilisation for a patient’s circulation with a bi-phase defibrillator, external pacemaker, invasive pacemaker, four syringe drivers (upgradable quantity) or one infusion pump (upgradable quantity). (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

A mobile sonography device lies unfolded on a patient stretcher

Diagnostic

Our reliable companions for diagnostics: multifunctional monitoring with 4-lead ECG, 12-channel ECG incl. ECG transmission, pulse oximetry, non-invasive blood pressure measurement, invasive blood pressure measurement, capnography, temperature measurement, sonography and blood gas analysis. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

A fully filled emergency backpack lies unfolded on the floor.

Further Equipment

Our medical equipment also includes: an emergency grab bag, ventilator, monitoring, ampoule kit, medical oxygen (portable: 1,000 l, fixed: 2,000 l), portable suction pump and emergency grab bag for paediatric care. (Source: DRF Luftrettung)

 

Are you a private individual looking to rely on our assistance as well? Then consider the options of becoming a supporting member of DRF e.V. This way, you're not only supporting the important work that DRF Luftrettung does, but you also benefit in case of emergencies: As a token of appreciation for your regular support, DRF e.V. can arrange for its supporting members to be repatriated to a nearby hospital if it is medically reasonable and justifiable.

Ambulance flight: Certificates, T&C, Price Overview