René Closter : Global Rescue Service

Can you present LAR in a few words?

Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR) is a nonprofit organisation, which for over 36 years has been devoted to saving lives and preserving people’s health by operating rescue helicopters and air ambulances in Luxembourg, the Greater Region and worldwide. With our subsidiary Luxembourg Air Ambulance (LAA) we have a fleet of seven rescue helicopters, two Airbus H145 D3s and five MD902s, as well as five state-of-the-art ambulance jets, including three Leajet 45XRs and two Challenger 605s. We are operating 24/7, 365 days and complete more than 3,000 missions a year – all the while guaranteeing the highest standards in the areas of medicine, technology and flight operations. In terms of members, we are the largest association in Luxembourg. Without the loyal support of our 184,000 members, we would be unable to realise our life-saving mission. As a token of gratitude, we offer our members free repatriation from abroad in the event of a medical emergency. We are very proud to have been named the best worldwide air ambulance provider of 2016, out of 800 participants.

What types of partnerships do you have with other Luxembourg and international organisations?

Since 1991, we have been part of the Luxembourgish rescue service SAMU. Our rescue helicopter can reach any part of the country within 10 minutes often bringing vital medical support. We have also had a cross-border collaboration with Germany for many years: one of our helicopters is dedicated to missions in Rhineland- Palatinate and Saarland and flies over 1,000 missions per year. Our ultra-modern medical training centre offers the chance to train in simulated real-life rescue scenarios and is not only used by our staff, but also by many national and international customers. We also operate the Luxembourg Police helicopter. Having become one of the key players in the field of medical repatriation, we offer intensive-care aircraft missions around the world, using our own state-ofthe art medical fleet. This is done not only for members, but also for insurance companies and other organisations. We hold the exclusive contract for delivery of organ transplants for the whole of France – excluding Paris. More than 1,600 requests per year are managed by our Operational Control Centre in Luxembourg. This long-standing cross-border cooperation confirms the French government's confidence in the services of LAR. In addition, LAR acts as an official partner to the UN and NATO, in close collaboration with the Luxembourg Ministry of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, as well as the European Commission. In recent years, LAR has also played a crucial role in the EU Frontex mission on behalf of the Luxembourg government.

How do you see Luxembourg Air Rescue developing in the next 5 years?

We set a very high standard of quality which very few organisations around the world can match. LAR is a team of 190 remarkable professionals and I am proud to say they make the difference. I am confident that we will succeed in further establishing ourselves as a top-ranked rescue, emergency medical aid and humanitarian relief organisation, and as an exemplar of European and international collaboration – at its most effective. We will continue to expand our activities in a sustainable way. As we continue to grow, we must constantly strive to meet the ever more exacting professional standards set in the fields of medicine and avionics. Just as vital, we will remain as passionate about our life-saving work as we were when we started in 1988. That passion has driven our success. We will keep that spirit alive.