AAI introduces ambulifts to reduce passenger mobility at airports
The civil aviation ministry said the government has been working to fully ensure accessible public infrastructure
New Delhi: Fourteen airports under the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have been equipped with ambulifts for disabled passengers and those with reduced mobility under the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, or Accessible India Campaign.
In a statement, the civil aviation ministry said the government has been working to take forward the vision of the campaign to fully ensure accessible public infrastructure, including airports, railways stations, and public transport systems. It added ambulifts will strengthen transportation system accessibility, which is an important part of the campaign.
Twenty ambulifts manufactured indigenously under the Make in India policy have been procured for the airports, which have flight operations of advanced level aircraft but do not have aerobridges. They have become operational at Dehradun, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bagdogra, Darbhanga, Imphal, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jodhpur, Belgaum, Silchar, Jharsuguda, Rajkot, and Hubli airports.
“The remaining six are likely to be operational at Dimapur, Jorhat, Leh, Jamnagar, Bhuj, and Kanpur airports by the end of this month,” the statement said.
An ambulift is fitted with heating ventilation and air conditioning and can cater to six wheelchairs and two stretchers at a time with an attendant. The ambulifts have been procured for ₹63 lakh per unit. “...AAI is providing ambulift facility at a nominal token charge to the operating airlines at its airports,” the statement said.
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