E-Paper
Air India lifts Garuda drones, operators to sanitise Chandigarh, Varanasi
With the precedent set, it will be easy for all players to carry drones to places where they are needed during a disaster
The national air carrier Air India on Thursday airlifted two Garuda Aerospace drones and two operators from Chennai for sanitisation operations in Chandigarh and Varanasi in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Two drones and two operators were air lifted by an Air India cargo flight. After landing at the Delhi airport, one team will go to Chandigarh and the other to Varanasi by road,” Agnishwar Jayaprakash, managing director of Garuda Aerospace, said.
“This is the first time that a drone company has received permission to fly in an Air India cargo flight to serve India in its fight against Covid-19,” he said.
“With the precedent set, it will be easy for all players to carry drones to places where they are needed during a disaster,” said Jayaprakash.
“We expect the plane to reach Delhi around 6pm. One of our teams is already in Chandigarh carrying out sanitisation operations and one team is en route to Varanasi,” Jayaprakash said.
Garuda Aerospace has bagged sanitisation orders from smart cities such as Varanasi, Raipur, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Apart from arranging the logistics, Garuda Aerospace had to convince drone operators to travel to Chandigarh and Varanasi.
“Fortunately, the operators volunteered to serve during this national crisis,” Jayaprakash said.
