Prayagraj: Air passengers travelling from Prayagraj airport can now make their journeys more enriching, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) introducing a Flybrary that allows flyers to borrow books free of cost and read them during their flights. The initiative permits passengers to carry the books to their destination, with a provision to return them at the Flybrary of the airport they reach.The initiative is aimed at encouraging reading among travellers and promoting the exchange and circulation of books between airports. However, within days of its launch, five passengers borrowed books from the Flybrary but did not return them. Airport authorities said they hoped greater awareness would encourage passengers to use the facility responsibly and return the books after completing their journeys.Prayagraj airport director Ganesh Yadav said the Flybrary was introduced with the objective of making air travel more informative, enjoyable and knowledge-oriented. He also appealed to residents of the city to donate good-quality and useful books to expand the collection and make the initiative more successful.At present, the Flybrary has a large collection of books related to yoga and religion. Officials are hopeful that more people will donate books from different genres, allowing passengers with varied interests to benefit from the facility. The initiative also creates an opportunity for books to travel between airports as passengers borrow them at one location and return them at another.In another important development, Prayagraj has also been included in the Uttar Pradesh govt’s plan to develop permanent helipads at the tehsil and block levels across the state. Five helipads have initially been proposed for the district.A proposal involving a budget of Rs 4 crore was sent to the state govt for approval. The proposed helipads are aimed at facilitating smoother VVIP movement and strengthening connectivity during emergencies. They are also expected to help speed up disaster relief and rescue operations by enabling quicker deployment of personnel and resources.The proposed infrastructure is part of efforts to strengthen emergency preparedness and improve connectivity at the local level.Once developed, the helipads are expected to provide additional support during natural disasters, medical emergencies and other crisis situations, besides facilitating VVIP movement in the district.
