he idea of seaplane tourism, which went into a state of hibernation amid much uncertainties after a hugely hyped official inauguration two years ago, is now all set to take off.
A brand new seaplane, owned by an Ernakulam-based aviation group, will arrive in the Kochi skies within the next few days. The seaplane, a Quest Kodiak 100 amphibian aircraft, was bought from the U.S. recently. The company, co-owned by a pilot, has made arrangements to have the aircraft flown to Kerala after a mandatory test flight for 200 km in the U.S. The aircraft is on the final leg of its homeward flight, company sources told The Hindu . “It has crossed the Atlantic and is scheduled to land in Bahrain within two or three days. The flight is slated to reach Kochi by the end of the first week of October,” sources said.
The flight will undergo training sessions once it reaches Kerala. Though the company has got initial clearances for operation from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the aircraft will require some formal sanctions from the DGCA once it reaches India. It probably take a month to have the DGCA documents ready, during which time the company will roll out its operational blueprints.
The nine-seater aircraft can fly at 300-plus kilometres an hour, a top official of the company said. The company had prepared plans to fly in the Kerala-Lakshadweep sector, considering the huge tourist traffic potential in the route. Other routes such as Kochi-Bekal and Kochi-Gokarna were also under consideration. The flight could be made available for chartered operations. The cost could be around Rs.50,000 per hour.
The services of the aircraft could also be utilised for emergency medical requirements or evacuations. In the absence of waterdromes at places such as Kochi, Alappuzha, and Thiruvananthapuram, the seaplanes would have to chart out suitable itineraries as it can make use of airports and airstrips.
The nine-seater aircraft
can fly at 300-plus
kilometres an hour
