While visiting Rega’s headquarters in Zurich-Kloten Airport today, I wondered how this privately owned company – Swiss Air-Rescue -, founded in 1952, has developed from a small group of pioneers to a professionally run organization, employing 280 staff members, doctors excluded, generating a revenue of 88 million Swiss Francs from 2.2 million patrons while claiming to be a non-profit foundation under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Government and while being a corporate member of the Swiss Red Cross.

The name “Rega” is made up of the initials “Re” from the German word “Rettungsflugwacht” and “Ga” from its French name “Garde Aérienne”. Rega’s principles are basically the same as those of the Red Cross that is to “come to the aid of people who find themselves in serious difficulties and are in need of assistance – without any discrimination as to their person, financial circumstances, race, religion, class or political opinions. Rega assists wherever the life or health of other people can be preserved or protected by means of its intervention.”

It turnes out that Rega has an impressive fleet of jets and helicopters, dispersed in ten bases throughout Switzerland at each of which either an Agusta A 109 K2 or a Eurocopter EC 145 rescue helicopter is stationed. Rega claims that the helicopter bases are distributed throughout the country in such a way that, with the exception of canton Valais, any location can be reached within just 15 minutes flying time.

While most of us know the Rega from their helicopter rescue missions, their cow missions have only recently made it to the newspapers’ front pages: The “Contadino” section at the headquarters employs one senior staff member, the – as I named him – Master of Cow Disaster – who works all day long on assisting mountain farmers and coordinating transports of injured or dead livestock. A cow weights approximately 800 kilograms, so one cow per helicopter is all that can be carried at once. Rega gave us one important advice on spectator behavior during cow transport missions: Don’t stand underneath the cow, if it’s still alive, it’s scared, and if it’s scared, you never know what will come flying from the sky. So you better get the shit ouf of there!