Ambulifts for flyers with reduced mobility
14 AAI airports that lack aerobridge provide this facility currently under the Accessible India campaign; six more airports to get it soon
A major initiative for the disabled; required in almost all airports
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has procured 20 ambulifts for the airports that have scheduled flight operations of Code-C and other advanced level aircraft but lack aerobridge facilities.
This could reduce the pain of the disabled and the ill, and the time spent in boarding significantly. The government stated that these ambulifts have been manufactured indigenously under the “Make in India” program and cost around Rs.63 lakhs per unit. However, AAI is providing the facility at a “nominal” charge to the operating airlines at its airports, it said.
The facility is currently available at 14 airports — Dehradun, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bagdogra, Darbhanga, Imphal, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jodhpur, Belgaum, Silchar, Jharsuguda, Rajkot, Hubli. Dimapur, Jorhat, Leh, Jamnagar, Bhuj and Kanpur are likely to get the facility soon.
The ambulifts can accommodate six wheelchairs and two stretchers with an attendant at a time. They are fitted with heating ventilation and air-conditioning, said a government release.
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