E-plane Company : India is now ready to take the emergency medical services on the Vayu! With a vision to revolutionize air ambulance services in the country, IIT-Madras-based e-Plane Company has teamed up with India’s leading air ambulance operator, ICATT, to bring together the first electric air ambulance fleet in the country.
Under this $1 billion agreement, 788 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) ambulances will be launched across every district in India, delivering life-saving medical care to patients faster than ever before.
Why Air Ambulances Are Needed in India?
If you have ever been caught in rigid traffic as an ambulance tries to navigate through its maze, you’ll know how precious each second can be during an emergency. The adoption of traditional road ambulances could cause delays which would prove fatal to patients.
That’s where these futuristic air ambulances join the fray. They will avoid road congestion, allowing for fast transport of medical supplies with no carbon footprint—so they are fast and planet-friendly!
How Will These Air Ambulances Operate?
The eVTOL air ambulances will be all-electric, designed to take off and land vertically — like a helicopter but quieter, more energy-efficient and more eco-friendly.
They will each be fitted to carry:
✔️ A pilot
✔️ A paramedic
✔️ A patient on a stretcher
◼️ Critical medical equipment in critical care
With a maximum speed of 200 km/h and the ability to cover 110–200 km on a single charge, these air ambulances can carry critically ill patients to the hospital, even in remote areas, quickly.
A Revolutionary Solution to India’s Healthcare System
The e-Plane Company, which is working on these advanced aircraft, aims to start operations in late 2026. This startup, which was incubated at IIT-Madras, has an annual production capacity of 100 units and is now looking for another $100 million in funding to ramp up development and certification.
This initiative falls in line with the vision of sustainable and innovative transportation in India, and also instantaneously enhances emergency medical response times.
Why air ambulances before air taxis?
With many companies around the world in a race to put air taxis in the sky, e-Plane Company has instead decided to launch air ambulances first.
Founder Satya Chakravarthy said launching using medical transport will allow the company to work through production, build public trust and show the technology’s reliability before getting into urban air taxis.
“An air ambulance lets us ramp up our production and get things into the market for good in a way that’s a lot more effective than going straight into an air taxi,” he explained.
Urban Air Mobility In India: The Future Is Now
The eVTOL ecosystem in India is thriving, with upstarts such as Archer Aviation, Sarla Aviation and e-Plane Company blazing the trail. The government is also working a lot to expand airspace regulation for air taxis, cargo drones and medical transport aircraft.
The dream of avoiding traffic gridlock found in almost every city worldwide could soon come to fruition, with global mobility goliaths such as Uber designing air taxi prototypes.
