Air Police (Austria)
The Flugpolizei (English: Air Police) is a unit of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Austria.
Role
The Flugpolizei coordinates air operations in the support of the Polizei in criminal matters, in connection with major events and to assist with traffic control. It also supports the fire service when fighting fires from the air or during other natural disasters, and carries out search and rescue for the Zivilluftfahrtbehörde (civil aviation authority). Very often, it will also conduct rope rescues in alpine terrain or search for missing persons. On a European level, involvement in future missions in the framework of bilateral police cooperation and with the European border agency Frontex are of an increasing importance.[1]
The Flugpolizei provides training to users, pilots, flight observers and rescuers (e.g. flight training for firefighters).[1]
The Flugpolizei participates in the field of aviation law, specifically with the development of new legal provisions in this sector, and in the study of border incidents in the sky and attacks on civil aviation security.[1]