The Airports Authority of India (AAI) informed that to reduce maneuverability in boarding an aircraft, 14 airports have been equipped with ambulifts. There are 14 airports at Dehradun, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bagdogra, Darbhanga, Imphal, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jodhpur, Belgaum, Silchar, Jharsuguda, Rajkot and Hubli.
Meanwhile, the airports of Dimapur, Jorhat, Leh, Jamnagar, Bhuj and Kanpur will have this facility by the end of this month, the AAI also mentioned.
The AAI statement said that Made-in-India ambulifts have been deployed at these airports as they do not have the facility of aerobridges. It mentioned, “The ambulifts can cater to six wheelchairs and two stretchers with an attendant at a time and are equipped with heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.”
received at the cost of 63 lakh per unit, AAI is providing ambulif facility to the operating airlines at a nominal token fee, it noted.
AAI has taken the initiative to provide Ambulifts under Sulabh Bharat Abhiyan of the Central Government to facilitate passengers with low mobility, disabled passengers in wheelchairs and passengers on stretchers during their air travel.