New Delhi: In a first of its kind initiative, under the leadership of Airport Director, Aryama Sanyal, Indore Airport installed Sanitary Napkin Vending Machines in female restrooms of arrival hall and departure security hold area in the first fortnight of October 2017. With accompanying instruction in English and Hindi, a lady attendant is also positioned in the area to assist women passengers in operating the machine.
"Since there is no medical shop near the airport and it is impossible to move in and out from the terminal building, we started this initiative. Each facility has the capacity to stock 25 pads and the money from these machines will be utilised to maintain the stock", said Aryama Sanyal.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been committed to the responsibility of enhancing its passengers' travel experience and in providing facilities for passengers' comfort and convenience. The installation of sanitary napkin vending machines at airports realising an imminent need of better women facilitation at airports is a testimonial to the efforts taken by AAI in this direction. The ready availability of sanitary napkins at affordable prices inside the airport terminal buildings will promote hygienic practices and will also help address the deep rooted stigma attached to menstruation.
Following suit, other AAI airports like Kolkata, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Port Blair, Trivandrum, Mangalore, Tirupati, Vishakhapatnam, Vadodara, Aurangabad, Rajkot, Pune, Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal, Shimla, Varanasi and Surat have also installed sanitary napkin vending machines inside the terminal building. These machines are easy to operate and require only a coin of Rs 1, 5 or 10 for a pack of three. This initiative is widely appreciated by the women passengers travelling through various AAI airports. Soon, passengers travelling through other AAI airports will also get this facility. Few of the airports are even contemplating to provide the sanitary pads free of cost in collaboration with Non-Government Organisations (NGOs).
Dr Guruprasasd Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI seems contended with the efforts undertaken by various AAI airports in installing sanitary napkin vending machines. "Installation of sanitary napkin vending machines is a small step towards ensuring comfort for female air travellers. While we are committed to provide a safe and secure air travel, we feel it is our responsibility to address basic hygiene-related needs too," he said.
India witnessed exceptional rise in domestic air travel and crossed the 100-million mark for the first time in 2017.