SkyDrive will work with Air India and Suzuki to evaluate initial operating routes for eVTOL medical-logistics services in India, focusing on time-critical transport between manufacturing sites and hospitals as well as inter-hospital transfers in congested urban corridors. The study follows a memorandum of understanding signed in July and centres on potential use of SkyDrive’s electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft for urgent medical cargo and emergency transfers, subject to regulatory approval.
The companies are examining candidate routes including links from Mumbai manufacturing sites to nearby hospitals and routes across the Delhi NCR, where road travel can take 30 to 90 minutes for ambulance journeys that the partners believe could be shortened to around 10 to 15 minutes. The programme is intended to identify high-priority medical logistics lanes across India, including shipments such as radioactive isotopes and organ transport, if the operational concept advances.
No route has been finalised and no launch date has been set. Further progress depends on government and aviation approvals, with the current phase limited to feasibility and route assessment.