Assam Transport, Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary formally launched an air ambulance service at NEDFi (North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd) House, Dispur on Thursday.

Delhi-based Flaps Aviation Private Ltd will operate its air ambulance service from Guwahati with "Book Air Ambulance" as its brand. The air ambulance is equipped with all emergency medical equipment and has a medical team to take care of patients on-board.Unveiling the service, Patowary hoped that the air ambulance service would usher in a new era of healthcare for the patients of Assam and Northeast.

"Since the air ambulance will be parked at Guwahati airport, it will lessen its cost by half. Earlier, an ambulance had to fly from Delhi to take a patient from Guwahati to the national capital. Besides, the services will also facilitate organ transplants during critical times," he said.Patowary stated that night parking facility would be available at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here from next month and Spicejet Airways had agreed in principle to operate its early-morning and late-evening flights to and fro in the Delhi-Guwahati air route.

The minister further added that the government of Assam had requested the union ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation to connect the capitals of the ASEAN countries to Guwahati under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which are at a flying distance of 2 hours from Guwahati."Work is in process to convert the LGBI Airport to an international standard one and the central government has already sanctioned an amount of Rs 1,000 crore for development of a new terminal at the LGBI Airport," he said.