Hyderabad’s International Airport becomes nation’s first airport to offer ‘wheelchair’ lifts

Hyderabad, September 24: Have ever wondered about the people who travel on ‘wheelchair’, how they be travelling on stairs or elevators? Being normal human beings, we never put a glance on the lives of such people who strive hard to lead day to day lives. Good News! GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL) has launched wheelchair lift or verti-lift for the benefit of senior citizens and passengers with reduced mobility at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. 

In order to give friendly experiences to people with reduced mobility, introduced under GHIAL’s signature programme of ‘Passenger is Prime’, the facility has been made available to domestic passengers arriving at the airport.

According to an GHIAL release, on an average around 40,000 passengers fly in and out of Hyderabad each day, out of which more than 100 arrival passengers are wheelchair bound. For the wheelchair bound passengers who arrive on aircraft which do not dock at aerobridges, elevators are provided to enable them enter the terminal building to reclaim their baggage.

To minimize the wait time at the elevators, the verti-lift solution has been introduced at the airport, the release said. With the verti-lift, it takes around two minutes for a passenger to move up from the gate to the baggage claim area. The lift is electrically powered and can be operated by a remote control after securing the wheelchair bound passenger on to the lift’s platform. The airport has also provided a backup power source to ensure uninterrupted operations of the lift at all times.

“We are happy to be the first airport in India to introduce a Verti-lift to serve our passengers. The verti-lift is our latest effort as part of this programme which is also in line with the government’s ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’ initiative,” GHIAL CEO SGK Kishore said.

For passengers with reduced mobility, RGIA has dedicated curbside parking at forecourt with proper signage, and intercom calling facility at both departure and arrival ramps. Wheelchair assistance from the curbside till check-in is also provided at the .airport. All elevators across the terminal have Braille instructions helping visually challenged passengers while there is a dedicated security check lane, which ensures their smooth passage through the Security Hold Area. Dedicated seating arrangements and wheel-chair friendly washrooms apart from free buggy services are also available at RGIA.