TAPPING THE UNCHARTED WATERS

Seaplane services are expected to transform regional connectivity in India, boost tourism, create jobs, and foster economic development, particularly in hard-to-reach coastal and inland regions

- SWAATI KETKAR

IF YOU LOOK AT INDIA'S TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP, YOU WILL realise that India has a long coastal line of thousands of kilometres stretching across nine states and four union territories namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal and Union Territories Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep Islands, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In order to give a final push to the seaplane service, the government in August 2024 released new Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules for seaplanes allowing non-scheduled operators to provide such services. The rules were simplified with the aim to encourage seaplane operations under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik).

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEAPLANE SERVICE IN INDIA

Looking at this huge opportunity, SpiceJet along with Government of Gujrat introduced a seaplane service in October 2020 from Ahmedabad to a famous tourist spot about 200 kilometers away – ‘Kevadia’- home to the new ‘Statue of Unity’ of Former Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel.

The new service was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who joined the first flight and took the 50-minute ride from Kevadia to the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. Just as the first flight took off, it was clear that the service was headed for rough waters. It was found that SpiceJet did not have the necessary environmental clearances related to the construction of water aerodromes in both cities. Apart from the regulatory issues, there were serious maintenance issues with the aircraft in operation.