The DRF Luftrettung non-profit foundation has been awarded the contract to operate the new air rescue base at Lahr Airport (Ortenau district). The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior announced the decision on July 21, 2025.
At the contract signing in Lahr, State Secretary Thomas Blenke (MdL) said the move brings the state “a big step closer” to aligning air rescue bases with the current needs of emergency patients. From 2026, the population will be served from ten bases across the state.
The new rescue helicopter, call sign “Christoph Ortenau”, will operate during daylight hours from sunrise to sunset. The DRF will provide the pilots and technical crew, while emergency doctors will be supplied by Ortenau Klinikum. The aircraft will be a state-of-the-art Airbus H145 D3 with a five-blade rotor. Operations are scheduled to begin on July 1, 2026, under a 15-year concession.
Three bids were considered in the tender process. Quality and price each accounted for 50% of the evaluation, with the DRF achieving the highest overall score. The organisation currently operates seven bases in Baden-Württemberg; Lahr will be its eighth from 2026.
The new base implements recommendations from a 2020 structural and needs analysis for air rescue in Baden-Württemberg. It fills a gap along the Lahr–Freudenstadt axis and will improve emergency coverage for residents of the Ortenau district and the northern Black Forest.
In the long term, the state plans to tender all air rescue bases and expand the network to ten stations. Once complete, the system will ensure that every location in Baden-Württemberg can be reached by helicopter within 20 minutes during the day.
