Johanniter Luftrettung

Johanniter Luftrettung is the air rescue service of the Johanniter charity, based in Giessen, Germany. It flies helicopters for intensive care transfers and for emergency rescue. It also offers repatriation flights. The website is in German.

Services

The main task is moving intensive care patients from one hospital to another while their treatment carries on without a break. The helicopters also fly as rescue helicopters after road accidents, work accidents and medical or nerve emergencies. For patients who need to be brought home from Germany or abroad, the site says several ambulance aeroplanes are available, with qualified medical care on board.

Aircraft and bases

The service runs air rescue centres in Giessen, Reichelsheim, Rostock and at the Nurburgring. The site says it uses six Airbus AS 365 and H 155 helicopters and has added two Airbus H 145 D3 helicopters. The cabin has room for up to three extra crew members. It can carry on ECMO and IABP treatment and take newborn incubators on board.

The Giessen helicopter, Christoph Giessen, is stationed near the university hospital Giessen-Marburg and works day and night. Christoph Rostock flies from a base at a hospital in Rostock.

Coverage area

Christoph Giessen and Christoph Mittelhessen cover Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg. Christoph Rostock covers Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Baltic islands and nearby states. Transfers fly across Germany and, when needed, to Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Facts

• Type: charity air rescue service flying its own helicopters
• Centres: Giessen, Reichelsheim, Rostock and Nurburgring
• Quality: certified to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015, as the site states
• Alarm centre: open 24 hours, 365 days a year