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At a press conference, the representative of the Police Aviation Unit within the Uniformed Police Directorate at the General Police Directorate, Damjan Bregar, presented the detailed activities of the Unit during the summer tourist season.

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Damjan Bregar, head of the Pilots Section, presented the activities of the Police Aviation Unit during the summer tourist season.
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Besides regular police tasks performed in line with the guidelines and plan of work of the Uniformed Police Directorate (traffic control, national border control, cooperation in actions with the criminal police and the Special Unit, securing events, etc.), the Unit also performs tasks of providing helicopter emergency medical service, mountain rescuing, inter-hospital transport and other tasks in the area of search and rescue. Similarly, the Unit was active in tasks connected to the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.

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The police have two helicopters with first-aid equipment

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In summer, the number of tasks and needs, including the use of police helicopters, increases considerably due to security and other events connected with the tourist season and public gatherings organised in this period. Consequently, the Unit performs an increased number of flights over the more burdened traffic routes, especially at the end of the week. A helicopter is an effective tool for controlling traffic; it assists in detecting traffic offenders as well as in establishing the causes of traffic congestion and in their removal. In this period, there were several actions involving helicopter emergency medical services and mountain rescues.

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The Police Aviation Unit also performs emergency flights abroad for transporting Slovenian citizens who have been injured or have fallen ill abroad, and helicopter transport is often the only rational and urgent solution.

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The Unit's work is described by the following data: in April 2008, the unit logged 75 flight hours for operational police tasks and 55 flight hours for humanitarian tasks. In July of this year, almost 160 flight hours were amassed for operational police tasks and 70 flight hours for humanitarian tasks. By month, the situation is as follows:

  • June: 35 medical transports and one rescue action in the mountains
  • July: 40 medical transports and one rescue action in the mountains
  • August: 15 medical transports and 6 rescue actions in the mountains

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The police pilot team also employs two female pilots.


Currently, the unit is preparing to monitor from the air a friendly game between Slovenia and Croatia on 20 August 2008. In the area of PD Maribor, the ASU helicopter will, by means of a video monitoring system, help the police units in ensuring undisturbed road traffic and in monitoring support groups, as well as detecting and documenting breaches of law and order. The technique of monitoring from the air enables the operation headquarters to receive an image of what is going on at an event and any related incidents.

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All tasks are supplemented by the activities of the Unit in protecting the national border, because the unit regularly performs flights to protect the Schengen border, both day and night.

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Due to the increased number of flights during the tourist season, there are more planned and unplanned repairs and maintenance services of helicopters; consequently, aircraft technicians, who are also crew members and actively involved in operational tasks, have an increased workload.