DRF Luftrettung (German Air Rescue) has been operating in Mannheim since July 1, 1986.
Today, the station is an indispensable part of emergency medical care in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.
To celebrate four decades of red and white air rescue service, around 60 invited guests gathered at Mannheim City Airport.
Ernst Peleikis, managing director of DRF Luftrettung (German Air Rescue), opened the ceremony and welcomed the guests.
“The framework for air rescue services here in Mannheim and throughout Baden-Württemberg is excellent,” he emphasized.
“With nine air rescue bases, one of which operates 24/7, and significant advancements in emergency medical services, the state has set the right course in recent years. At the same time, we see an urgent need for action at the federal level. Our goal is to continue providing the population with fast, reliable, and top-quality emergency medical care. To achieve this, we need reliable funding for emergency medical services and appropriate, voting representation for those who ensure emergency care on a daily basis.”
Reiner Moser, state secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, for Digitalization and Europe of Baden-Württemberg, congratulated the station on its anniversary and emphasized its vital role:
“Christoph 53 is an indispensable component of emergency medical care in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Over the past 40 years, it has evolved from an intensive care transport helicopter to a flying intensive care unit. The Mannheim crew has become a pioneer in the advancement of pre-hospital emergency medicine. This is particularly evident in the care of critically injured patients, life-threatening bleeding, and in the extensive experience with pediatric emergencies, pediatric intensive care transports, and incubator transports. None of this would be possible without the people behind Christoph 53. Air rescue is teamwork. For that, I would like to express my sincere gratitude today. Thank you to the current and former staff of the station for their dedication, and thank you to all partners for their trustworthy and professional collaboration.”
Christian Specht, mayor of Mannheim, emphasized the important role of the helicopter in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and thanked the station team and DRF Air Rescue for their work.
Dirk Eggert, managing director of Mannheim City Airport, praised the trusting and successful cooperation between air rescue and the airport in his welcoming address.
“Mannheim Air Rescue 71 is ready for action!” was the call at Mannheim Airport 40 years ago. The helicopter, an Ecureuil AS 350 (“Squirrel”), primarily served as an intensive care transport helicopter for urgent transfers between hospitals.
In the early years, the crews carried out around 300 missions annually. In 2002, the call sign was changed to Christoph 53.
Since the expansion of the intensive care transport helicopters’ responsibilities in Baden-Württemberg in 2005, the crews have also been increasingly called out as rapid emergency physician transports.
As part of a public tender process, DRF Luftrettung was awarded the contract to operate the air rescue station in Mannheim for another 15 years in 2025.
With the start of the new contract period on Nov. 1, 2026, the crews will operate under the new radio call sign “Christoph Mannheim” and will be available for longer periods during the autumn and winter months due to extended operational readiness.
Outstanding emergency medical expertise
For many years, the Mannheim air ambulance station has played a pioneering role in the development and application of innovative procedures in pre-hospital emergency medicine.
Modern diagnostic methods such as mobile ultrasound, blood gas analysis, and pupillometry enable precise diagnosis of illnesses and injuries at the scene and the early initiation of life-saving measures.
In 2019, the Mannheim crew became the first air ambulance team in Germany to receive comprehensive training in advanced invasive emergency techniques. Since 2024, they have also been using innovative procedures such as REBOA, which allows life-threatening internal bleeding to be controlled by temporarily occluding the aorta.
The crew also utilizes near-infrared spectroscopy to monitor cerebral oxygenation. Blood and plasma products have been part of their equipment since 2019, enabling targeted treatment of patients with massive blood loss even before they reach a hospital.
Furthermore, the station is involved in the ongoing development of care for patients with cardiac arrest. Advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as invasive hemodynamic measurements, cerebral monitoring, and transesophageal echocardiography, are used to optimize resuscitation and further improve the survival chances of those affected.
The Mannheim crew also possesses particular expertise in the care of critically ill or injured children and newborns, as well as in conducting complex intensive care transfers between hospitals.
With their high level of medical competence, the use of innovative procedures, and state-of-the-art equipment, the Mannheim air ambulance crews are among the leading providers of pre-hospital emergency medicine in Germany.
The Mannheim station of DRF Air Rescue
The helicopter is currently operational daily from sunrise (no earlier than 7 a.m.) until sunset and is crewed by a pilot, an emergency physician, and a paramedic/HEMS TC (helicopter emergency medical service technical crew member).
From November 2026, Christoph Mannheim’s operational readiness will be extended: The helicopter will then be operational year-round from 8 a.m., until 8 p.m. during the winter months and until sunset during the summer months.
Destination hospitals are primarily the university hospitals in Mannheim and Heidelberg and the BG Trauma Center in Ludwigshafen.
The crew can reach deployment locations within a radius of approximately 60 kilometers in a maximum flight time of 15 minutes. Last year, Christoph 53 was called out a total of 907 times.
The operational radius of Christoph 53 extends from the Odenwald low mountain range to the heavily trafficked A5 and A6 motorways.
The Mannheim-based helicopter serves an area with more than two million inhabitants in the border region of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.
This press release was prepared and distributed by DRF Luftrettung. It was translated using an online service.
