Image credit: The ePlane Company
In response to India’s growing traffic congestion, Chennai-based electric aircraft startup the ePlane Company has announced a deal to supply 788 air ambulances in a contract valued at over $1 billion.
The eVTOL manufacturer has partnered with air ambulance service provider ICATT, the International Critical-Care Air Transfer Team. This partnership promises to establish India’s largest air ambulance network to ensure better and faster access to critical care.
“This is going to be a very good solution in terms of organ air-lifts. 95% of the registered patient recipients die before they get an organ. This is purely because of the lack of logistics, not due to lack of donors,” said Dr Shalini Nalwad, Founder of ICATT.
ICATT plans to station the eVTOL ambulances across all districts, leveraging their vertical takeoff and landing capabilities to bypass urban gridlock and improve response times.
Combatting India’s Growing Congestion Problem
In recent years, India’s rapid urbanisation has led to significant traffic congestion in its major cities. According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2024, three Indian cities—Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Pune—rank among the world’s top five for slowest traffic speeds.
This congestion severely impacts patient care by delaying emergency response times, often resulting in critical patients being stuck in traffic or reaching medical facilities too late.
“By deploying air ambulances at scale, we aim to enhance emergency response capabilities, ensure faster critical care access, and bridge the gap between accident sites and advanced medical facilities, ultimately reducing fatalities and improving healthcare accessibility,” said Prof Satya Chakravarthy, Founder of the ePlane Company.
The company’s flagship aircraft, the e200x, has a wingspan of eight meters which allows it to take off and land in tight spaces such as rooftops or roadside fields. According to the company, the e200x is capable of transporting patients seven times faster than ground vehicles.
The aircraft are expected to have an initial range of 110 kilometres (68 miles), which could later be extended to over 200 kilometres. Each unit will accommodate a pilot, a paramedic, and a patient on a stretcher. ePlane plans to begin commercial operations in the latter half of 2026, initially producing 100 units per year.
However, to reach full-scale production, ePlane will require an additional $100 million to fund more prototypes, complete type certification, and set up commercial manufacturing. So far, the startup has secured $20 million in investment.
