New Delhi, February 8 (IANS). The country’s apex industry body, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has prepared a roadmap, in which a pilot air corridor model connecting Gurugram, Connaught Place and Jewar International Airport has been suggested. Its objective is to reduce traffic in cities and reduce the travel time of people.
This CII report ‘Guiding the future of advanced air mobility in India’
It has been released with the name, which was launched by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu. According to the report, the use of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft i.e. air taxis can help meet India’s net-zero 2070 target as they run without pollution.
The report said that a separate and strong regulatory department for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) should be created within the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). This will allow services like eVTOL and air taxi to be safely included in the Indian airspace.
This special unit within the DGCA will formulate rules related to aircraft safety, operation and flight, including specific standards for eVTOL aircraft flying at low altitudes over cities. The report outlines plans to implement these new air services gradually and safely.
The report said air corridors and vertiports (where air taxis will land) should be included in the master planning of cities in conjunction with urban planning agencies and smart city missions. This will ease the availability of land, connectivity with other means of transport and arrangements for battery charging.
Vertiports on rooftops can be a cheap and easy solution in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. However, currently commercial flights from rooftops are not allowed under DGCA rules. In future, this rule will be implemented only after security check and new rules are made.
The report notes that building new vertiports on land is very expensive and involves delays in obtaining government approval. At the same time, rooftops of buildings are already existing and underutilized space. These can be built in office areas, hospitals, tech parks and residential buildings, so that people can easily use them.
The report appeals to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), banks and government funding agencies to create a separate funding mechanism for advanced air mobility. This may include facilities like infrastructure funds, leasing and loan guarantees, so that the risk of investors is reduced.
The report recommends delivering goods and essential medical supplies through drones over a distance of 50 to 100 kilometers. Also, emphasis has been laid on planning take-off and landing infrastructure under PPP model in areas like NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
CII said that this report has been prepared on an air corridor based study and will become an important guide for policy makers, investors and industry players, thereby determining the direction of safe, sustainable and modern air transportation in India.
–IANS
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