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The Rajkot Airport in Gujarat got a new "Ambulift" which will help in the movement flyers with reduced mobility.
The ambulifts can cater to six wheelchairs and two stretchers with an attendant at a time and is fitted with Heating Ventilation and 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 providing Ambulift facility at a nominal token charge to the operating airlines at its airports.
The equipment deployed facilitates Passengers with Reduced Mobility(PRM)/ Divyang (Specially abled) passengers on wheelchair or other facilities into and out of the main decks of all aircraft types.
The vehicle body is equipped with Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning to provide the optimum temperature with floor panels to provide the smooth movement of wheelchairs and stretcher trolleys.
Meanwhile, 14 AAI Airports are now equipped with Ambulifts to facilitate flyers with reduced mobility under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) of Government of India. To facilitate passengers with reduced mobility, Divyang passenger on wheel chair and passenger on stretchers, AAI has procured 20 ambulifts for the airports which are having scheduled flight operations of Code C and other advanced level aircraft but does 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 .