Burgenland agrees to help fund Vienna air rescue service

Burgenland has agreed to contribute to funding Vienna’s air rescue service, joining Lower Austria in a new arrangement, ORF reported. From 2028, the states will be charged for each minute the rescue helicopter flies in their territory.

About 1,600 flight minutes by the Vienna service took place in Burgenland last year, Vienna’s health councillor Peter Hacker said. Each of those minutes will be billed under the new system.

The helicopter has flown missions on behalf of Vienna and Lower Austria since 2011 and sometimes also covers Burgenland. The ÖAMTC provides the helicopter and pilot. Rescue personnel and paramedics come from Vienna’s professional ambulance service, while emergency doctors are supplied by that service and the Vienna Health Association.

In August, Vienna and Lower Austria agreed to move away from flat-rate billing and work towards charging the actual costs of each operation.