In a move to provide facilities to passengers with reduced mobility, Divyang passenger on wheelchairs and passengers on stretchers, 14 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports have been equipped with Ambulifts under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of Government of India, informed the officials on Wednesday.
AAI procured 20 ambulifts for the airports having scheduled flight operations of Code C and other advanced level aircraft but do not have aerobridge facilities. The Ambulift has been manufactured indigenously under the 'Make in India' policy.
"The facility is presently operational at 14 airports namely Dehradun, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bagdogra, Darbhanga, Imphal, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jodhpur, Belgaum, Silchar, Jharsuguda, Rajkot, Hubli and remaining six are likely to be operational at Dimapur, Jorhat, Leh, Jamnagar, Bhuj and Kanpur airports by the end of this month," informed the Ministry of Civil Aviation in an official release.
The ambulifts can cater to six wheelchairs and two stretchers with an attendant at a time and are fitted with Heating Ventilation & Air-Conditioning system.
The initiative taken up by AAI under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of the Government of India will provide convenient air travel to flyers with reduced mobility and also help 'Divyangjan' at airports where aerobridge facility is not available.
Procured at a cost of Rs. 63 lakhs per unit, AAI is set to provide the Ambulift facility at a nominal token charge to the operating airlines at its airports.
( With inputs from ANI )
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