Redion's 2024 Snow Plane

There were fewer ski accidents during the Flemish Community's carnival holidays (Krokusvakantie, from 9 to 17 February 2024), despite unfavourable skiing conditions and school holidays staggered between the two communities.

On Saturday 17 February 2024, Redion Belgium repatriated 33 people, including 8 injured, from Salzburg on its annual "Snow Plane".

The 2024 "carnival holidays" on the ski slopes

• As usual, many Belgians headed to ski resorts during the carnival holidays. This year, however, the holiday period was split differently between Dutch speakers and French speakers. This affected the figures and trends.
• During the Dutch-speaking carnival holidays (krokusvakantie), Redion received 9,017 phone calls, with the traditional Monday peak (1,464 calls on Monday 12 February), and around 1,300 additional assistance requests were logged via the app.
• In total, 122 ski-related medical files were opened between 9 and 16 February 2024, a decrease of 40% compared to the same period last year. This decrease is explained by the staggered holiday periods and generally unfavourable skiing conditions at many low-altitude resorts, where skiers had fewer opportunities to enjoy their favourite sport.
• 15% of ski medical files resulted in hospitalisation (compared to 12% in 2023).
• The ski destinations with the highest number of medical ski files were France (40%), Austria (33%), Italy (15%) and Switzerland (12%).
• The number of technical breakdown interventions on the way to ski resorts saw a slight increase (+3% vs. 2023).

Unusual circumstances

Not-quite-ideal weather conditions: The carnival holidays are an occasion for many Belgians to head to the ski slopes. But light snowfall in many places and very mild temperatures forced many skiers to seek out resorts and good conditions at higher altitude.

It snowed in many places over the weekend of 10 February 2024, particularly in the southern part of the Alps. In many places, the snow had fallen on top of sheets of ice, which could sometimes lead to dangerous situations. During the 2024 carnival holidays, the weather in the Alps remained dry or slightly variable with mild temperatures. At lower altitudes, there was sometimes rain that froze overnight. The best ski slopes therefore had to be sought at higher altitude. Some ski slopes were kept in good condition thanks to snow cannons. As a result, open slopes could be particularly busy at certain times of the day. The busy slopes and generally poor snow quality forced skiers to be more careful, slow down, and consequently sustain fewer serious injuries.

Belgian school holidays: In 2024, the school holiday calendar was once again very particular for Belgians. The Dutch-speaking community traditionally had time off during carnival week (from 10 to 18 February). For the French-speaking community, the "relaxation break" only started on 26 February and lasted two weeks. The previous year, the first week of holidays fell at the same time for both communities, but French speakers had an extra week from 27 February to 5 March 2023.

Redion's 2024 Snow Plane

As every year, Redion offered people injured while skiing who did not need urgent repatriation, or who wished to stay with their family on site, the chance to be brought home aboard its "Snow Plane".

This year, Redion's Snow Plane welcomed 33 holidaymakers, including eight people injured while skiing, and four people repatriated following a technical breakdown of their vehicle in Austria. The flight made a round trip between Brussels and Salzburg airport on Saturday 17 February. Repatriation from the Austrian ski resorts was carried out in cooperation with Brussels Airlines aboard an A319.

The French-speaking relaxation break

During the French-speaking relaxation break (from Friday 23 February to Thursday 7 March 2024 inclusive), Redion opened 180 medical files linked to snow sports activities in the Alps. This figure represents a 44% decrease compared to the same holiday period in 2023, but it is difficult to make a comparison with the previous year, given that in 2023 the first week of the French-speaking holidays coincided with the first week of the Dutch-speaking carnival holidays, which was not the case in 2024. It therefore stands to reason that more ski medical files were opened during this period in 2023. 11% of medical files resulted in hospitalisation. Snowfall was sometimes abundant in the Alps from the first weekend of the relaxation break and throughout the holiday period, allowing snow sports to be practised in good conditions in many places when the weather permitted.

The main injuries related to skiing and snowboarding show the usual pattern: 41% knee injuries, 14% shoulder injuries, 13% leg injuries, 10% hand or wrist injuries, 7% foot injuries, 6% arm injuries, 2% head injuries.

Technical assistance files for trips to ski resorts (breakdowns and car accidents) are also down compared to last year (-14%). Here too, the difference in figures is explained by the completely separate holiday periods this year between the two communities.