Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the healthcare sector has been accorded priority to improve access to medical services for citizens across the country. The Gujarat Government’s air ambulance initiative was undertaken under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to provide rapid emergency medical transportation to patients.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who also holds the Civil Aviation portfolio, said the service is operated by the Government of Gujarat through the Civil Aviation Department and Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL). It provides air medical transportation at subsidised rates and is available to citizens across India. The initiative has emerged as an important component of the state’s emergency medical response infrastructure.
The service operates a dedicated VT-GUJ, Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft, which remains available round the clock for air ambulance missions. Depending on the patient’s medical condition, the urgency of the case, the distance and the destination, the aircraft can be equipped with the required doctors, medical personnel, equipment and other support facilities, the statement said.
The air ambulance service relies on coordination between medical teams and aviation operations. The 108 Emergency Services plays an important role in identifying cases that require air ambulance support and initiating the process. Once a requirement is identified, it is referred to the GUJSAIL Flight Operations Department, which serves as the operational control point for the flight.
The Flight Operations Department coordinates aviation requirements and facilitates the patient’s transfer following arrival at the airport. The process involves coordination among medical personnel, aircraft crew, airport authorities, ground transportation teams and the receiving hospital, according to the official release.
Hospitals can also directly request the air ambulance service when a patient requires an urgent transfer to another medical facility. The objective is to ensure seamless medical transportation from the hospital or point of origin to the airport, through the flight and onward to the receiving medical facility, enabling critically ill patients to access appropriate medical care with minimum delay.
An important feature of the service is its operational flexibility. The aircraft can operate from a wide range of airports and suitable airstrips, including uncontrolled airstrips, subject to applicable operational, weather and safety requirements.
This capability can be particularly valuable when a patient requiring specialised treatment is located far from a major metropolitan airport. The ability to operate from smaller airstrips can bring air medical transportation closer to the patient’s location and reduce the distance that must be covered by road, the release said.
The air ambulance service complements the existing road ambulance network rather than replacing it. While road transportation remains appropriate in many situations, air transportation provides an additional and potentially faster option when distance, urgency or geographical conditions make it advantageous.
Since 2022, the service has undertaken 48 patient transportation missions, enabling critically ill patients requiring urgent or specialised medical treatment to be transferred between locations in significantly less time than may otherwise be required by road, the release noted.
The service can support patients requiring specialised hospital care, advanced surgical intervention, critical care or other forms of specialised medical treatment. By reducing the time needed to reach an appropriate healthcare facility, the air ambulance can play a crucial role in emergency medical situations.
Organ transportation accounts for a substantial share of the service’s operations. Of the 98 missions completed since 2022, 50 were dedicated to transporting vital human organs for transplantation. Organ transplantation is highly time-sensitive because transplant teams have a limited window within which an available organ must be transported and transplanted.
By providing dedicated aviation support, the Government of Gujarat assists hospitals and transplant teams in transporting vital organs rapidly between locations. These missions form a significant part of the service’s role in supporting time-critical medical procedures.
The Government of Gujarat provides the air ambulance service at subsidised rates. The charge is Rs 50,000 for a Gujarati patient and Rs 65,000 for a non-Gujarati patient. When the service is booked by a hospital, the applicable charge is Rs 55,000, the release said.
The service is available to citizens across India, extending the public-service initiative beyond Gujarat’s geographical boundaries.
The effectiveness of the air ambulance service depends on coordination among multiple departments, agencies and professionals. The Civil Aviation Department, GUJSAIL, Flight Operations personnel, pilots, medical professionals, 108 Emergency Services, hospitals, airport authorities and ground support teams all contribute to the successful completion of missions.
With 98 missions completed since 2022, Gujarat’s 24×7 air ambulance service is approaching the 100-mission milestone. Its operations cover both emergency patient transfers and the transportation of vital human organs, combining aviation support with medical coordination to help patients access specialised treatment and assist transplant teams in meeting critical transportation timelines.
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