Will Rega soon fly regularly to Valais or not? In addition to the wolf, the dispute over air rescue is the big issue in the canton.
Out and about in Zermatt, the heart of Valais air rescue. The opinions on the street are made up: “Rega has a sufficiently large catchment area.” Or: “I don’t see that they have to come here now”.
Rega is responsible for air rescue in most regions of Switzerland and has helicopter bases throughout the country. But: Valais is the territory of Air Zermatt and Air-Glaciers. Now Rega wants to get involved there too. Last month she officially applied for a mandate for air rescue in the canton. A Rega helicopter has also been in Sion since last December. The reason: better availability for assignments in the Bernese Oberland and in the canton of Vaud.
“Valais has the densest coverage”
A provocation for the Valais air rescuers: “They want to expand into an area where the mountain rescue service was established and which is most densely covered by helicopters,” says Philipp Perren, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air Zermatt and Air-Glaciers of the “Rundschau”.
Rega is a foundation supported by almost 3.7 million patrons. The Valais helicopter companies are commercial companies, they finance themselves with transport and tourist flights.
“Go home, Rega!”
Air Zermatt and Air-Glacier helicopters can be seen daily in the mountain areas. Here in particular there is resistance. Daniel Luggen, Zermatt’s spa director, wrote in the Zermatt Tourism magazine: “Go home, Rega!”
For the director of the spa, it is a fight “David against Goliath”. But wouldn’t Rega have a place alongside the Valais companies? “It would be possible,” says Luggen. “But these are companies that are deeply anchored. It’s about jobs. Because of that, we don’t want to make any compromises.”
“Air rescue knows no cantonal borders”
What exactly Rega is planning in Valais is still unclear. In principle, Rega wants to “support”. Rega Managing Director Ernst Kohler recently said in an SRF contribution to the 70th anniversary: ”It’s called Swiss Air Rescue.” And further: “Basically, I am of the opinion that air rescue does not stop at the canton border.”
Rega does not want to comment on the resistance in Valais to the “Rundschau” – neither in front of the camera nor in writing. Reason: You do not want to influence the tendering process.
decision in November
Will Rega officially get a mandate for air rescue in Valais? The decision is expected to be made in November. Responsible: the cantonal Valais rescue organization (KWRO), an independent public institution.
The Valais Department of Health has overall supervision over them. Health director Mathias Reynard (SP) says: “We now have good quality, we saw that. We also want this quality for the future, but which companies do it is not our decision.”