Air rescue service Rega plans to relocate Swiss headquarters

Rega plans to relocate its headquarters to Kägiswil OW Keystone-SDA

Swiss air rescue service Rega is planning to relocate its headquarters from Zurich airport to the central canton of Obwalden, according to CH Media.

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Should this come to pass, around 200 employees would have to move their workplace from Zurich Airport to Kägiswil, Rega CEO Ernst Kohler said.

A possible solution is emerging at Kägiswil airfield, “which we are striving for with deep conviction”, said Kohler in an interview with CH Media published on Friday.

The canton of Obwalden supports the plans. “There are currently no insurmountable hurdles,” said the Rega boss. However, the canton and Rega are dependent on decisions from the federal government to ensure the necessary planning security for Swiss air rescue. Kohler was optimistic about this in the interview.

Solution needed by end of 2030

Rega has been looking for a new headquarters for ten years. Rega will have to leave its current headquarters at Zurich Airport by the end of 2030, explained Kohler. It therefore not only wants to relocate its maintenance operations to Obwalden. The head office with the administration, Rega’s national helicopter operations centre and the headquarters of Swiss Alpine Rescue are also to be relocated.

A location in Central Switzerland would be ideal, “because there are already many specialised aviation companies there and the corresponding specialists are also trained,” said Kohler. If possible, the jet fleet will remain at Zurich Airport.

New bus route for employees

“The process will take some time to get used to, and we will support the employees in the process,” said the Rega CEO. He was convinced that Kägiswil would become an attractive place to work.

“For example, we are planning a bus service from Sarnen train station to the new Rega headquarters every quarter of an hour,” he said. Hybrid forms of work are also being considered. A restaurant for employees and the public is also planned.

In May last year, the Obwalden cantonal council laid the foundations for Rega’s relocation. Parliament approved a motion to allow a Rega maintenance centre or Rega Centre at the airfield.

The canton of Obwalden returned the former military airfield to the federal government at the end of 2023. In December 2024, the Federal Armaments Office (Armasuisse) granted the Obwalden Airfield Cooperative a temporary building lease for the airfield until the end of September 2025.

Armasuisse and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation announced at the time that the aim was to harmonise the various needs on the site. Armasuisse will decide by mid-2025 whether civil flight operations can continue beyond September, it said.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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