The Swiss air rescue service Rega carried out a total of 20,463 missions in Switzerland and abroad last year, transporting an average of 36 patients per day. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Compared to the five-year average, the number of missions last year was 7% higher, Rega announced on Tuesday. Compared with the previous year, helicopter missions increased by 3.7%. Rega provided medical assistance by air to 13,168 patients last year. This figure does not correspond to the number of missions, as several people can be transported in one flight. Added to this are the flights with mountain rescuers from the Swiss Alpine Club and livestock transports for the agricultural sector. Bad weather Last year, helicopter missions totalled 15,265. While more rescue missions were carried out directly at the scene of an incident (9,127 missions, +5%), there was a slight decrease in the number of transfer flights between hospitals (2,591 missions, -5.1%). Such flights ...