India’s Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sarla Aviation and Aeromed International Rescue Services to explore the development of next-generation air ambulance services using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
“The partnership brings together Sarla Aviation’s eVTOL technology, Manipal Hospitals’ network of hospitals and clinical expertise, and Aeromed’s experience in air ambulance and medical evacuation services,” said the organisations in a press release. “The aim is to develop a seamless system that can transport patients directly between their location and the appropriate hospital, helping reduce delays caused by road traffic and long-distance travel. The MoU, signed on August 7, 2026, will focus on developing the aircraft’s medical cabin, establishing patient transfer procedures and identifying medical routes where faster transportation could make a critical difference. The partners will also work on emergency transfers for trauma, heart attacks, strokes, newborns requiring specialised care and organ transplantation.”
The teams will jointly work on designing the medical bay and integrating essential equipment into Sarla Aviation’s Shunya eVTOL aircraft, while keeping patient safety and comfort at the centre, said the press release. They will also develop standard procedures for transferring patients between ground ambulances, the aircraft and hospitals, including protocols for situations where patients require urgent escalation of care. Training programmes, insurance and safety frameworks, as well as research into patient outcomes, will also form part of the collaboration.
Shri. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviation of India, said: “What we have to now provide is seamless connectivity from the airport to the doorstep. That is where this will be very, very instrumental. With the kind of urbanisation and increase in population that we are seeing, we have to bring in new technologies to cater to that.”
For more information
https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/manipal-hospitals-joins-hands-with-sarla-aviation-and-aeromed-to-transform-emergency-medical-transport-in-india-302864825.html
(Image: Shri. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviation of India, at the inauguration ceremony)