ARA Flugrettung

ARA Flugrettung is a non-profit air rescue company based in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria. It operates emergency doctor helicopters from stations at Reutte in Tyrol, Fresach in Carinthia and Nassfeld in Carinthia. The Nassfeld station is staffed during the ski season. The company was founded in 2001 as a non-profit GmbH and belongs to the DRF Luftrettung group.

ARA flies emergency medical missions all year, unlike helicopter operators that only fly in winter. Its crews also do winch rescues in mountain terrain and night flights. The company holds an air operator certificate. It works with the Carinthian Red Cross and is a member of IKAR, the international commission for alpine rescue.

The fleet uses Airbus H145 helicopters with a rescue winch. The company says it brought the first H145 helicopters into service in Austria in April 2018. In 2025 it put the first H145 in Austria with a five blade rotor into service, and that helicopter is based at Nassfeld.

A normal crew has four people: a pilot, a winch operator, a flight rescuer and an emergency doctor. Crews can add specialists when needed, such as mountain rescuers, specialist doctors, intensive care nurses and dog handlers for avalanche missions.

In 2025 the company's three emergency doctor helicopters flew 2,145 missions. Night winch operations rose by 63 percent to 62 missions, and most of them were flown from Reutte. Most missions followed sport and leisure accidents, about 42 percent, followed by internal medical emergencies at about 26 percent.

The company had 88 staff in 2025. These were nine pilots, ten winch operators, 21 flight rescuers, 36 emergency doctors and twelve administrative staff. The company's crews also fly night winch missions into neighbouring Bavaria. A support association raises money for the work, and 2026 marks the company's 25th anniversary.

Services

• Emergency doctor helicopter missions
• Winch rescue
• Night flights
• Alpine rescue
• Fresach station
• Reutte station
• Nassfeld seasonal station
• Support association