Relief agency DRF given control over air rescue operations at site Lahr

The Ministry of the Interior, for Digitalization and Municipalities is overseeing the tendering process for a new air rescue site in Lahr, Baden-Württemberg. The contract for this project was awarded to DRF Luftrettung gemeinnuetzige GmbH (DRF) on July 21, 2025.

DRF, currently operating seven air rescue sites in Baden-Württemberg, will expand its operations to a total of eight stations from 2026, with the addition of the Lahr site. The helicopter at this new site will be deployed during daylight hours, from sunrise to sunset, and will bear the call sign Christoph Ortenau.

The new air rescue site in Lahr Airport (Ortenaukreis) implements the professional recommendations of the Structure and Need Analysis of Air Rescue in Baden-Württemberg from May 2020. DRF will deploy a helicopter of the type Airbus H145 D3 with a five-blade rotor at the Lahr site.

State Secretary Thomas Blenke stated that the new air rescue site in Lahr will bring them closer to their goal of aligning rescue helicopter bases with emergency patient needs. Once all recommendations from the Air Rescue Report have been implemented, the existing ten air rescue sites will be able to reach any location in Baden-Württemberg within 20 minutes during daylight hours.

DRF will provide the pilots and the medical-technical crew member of the rescue helicopter, while the on-board doctor will be provided by the Ortenau Clinic. Operations at the Lahr site are scheduled to commence on July 1, 2026.

For further information, please contact the Press Office or the Citizen's Representative of the Ministry of the Interior, for Digitalization and Municipalities. The Press Release about more sites for rescue helicopters was issued on November 17, 2022.

It is important to note that the publisher of the 2020 structural and needs analysis report on rescue helicopters in Baden-Württemberg mentioned in the article is not directly stated in the provided search results. Further specific sources would be required to identify the exact publisher.

The remaining air rescue sites in Baden-Württemberg will be tendered through subsequent procurement procedures. The concession for the Lahr air rescue site has a duration of 15 years.