14 airports in India to have Ambulift facility for flyers with reduced mobility

To facilitate flyers with reduced mobility, Ambulift facility has been made available at the Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) 14 airports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) announced on Wednesday (April 13).

Ambulifts are being provided under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of the Government of India (GoI).

AAI has procured 20 Ambulifts for the airports which are having scheduled flight operations of Code C & other advanced level aircraft but do not have aerobridge facilities. The Ambulift has been manufactured indigenously under the ‘Make in India’ policy, the ministry said.

The facility is currently available at Dehradun, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bagdogra, Darbhanga, Imphal, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jodhpur, Belgaum, Silchar, Jharsuguda, Rajkot, Hubli airports.

Six more are likely to be operational at Dimapur, Jorhat, Leh, Jamnagar, Bhuj and Kanpur airports by the end of this month, according to MoCA.

How do Ambulifts work?

An Ambulift can cater to six wheelchairs and two stretchers with an attendant at a time and is fitted with Heating Ventilation & Air-Conditioning system.

A wheelchair user approaches the Ambulift with a comfortable boarding height. Then, the Ambulift rises to the level of the aircraft without boarders lifting the user. The physically challenged passenger then gets out of the Ambulift and enters the aircraft easily.

This will provide convenient air travel to flyers with reduced mobility and also help the physically challenged, at airports where an aerobridge facility is not available.

Procured at a cost of Rs. 63 lakh per unit, AAI is providing the Ambulift facility at a nominal token charge to the operating airlines at its airports.

“The Government of India has been working to take forward the vision of the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan in order to ensure fully accessible public infrastructure, including airports, railways stations and public transport systems. This new addition of Ambulift at various AAI airports will strengthen Transportation System Accessibility, which is an important vertical of the Accessible India Campaign,” the ministry said.

Most of the major international airports have aerobridges which make travel easier for persons with disabilities. Where an aerobridge is not available, mobility devices are required.