Kerala Seaplane
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| Founded | 2 June 2013 | |||
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| Commenced operations | August 2013 | |||
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| Parent company | Kerala Tourism Development Corporation | |||
| Headquarters | Kerala, India | |||
| Website | keralaseaplane.com | |||
Kerala Seaplane is a commercial seaplane service based in the Indian state of Kerala. It was launched on 2 June 2013, but will be officially launched for tourists in August 2013. It is the first seaplane service in mainland India, but the second in India after Jal Hans, which operates in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Work on the Kerala seaplane project began at the end of July, 2012 and has been praised for being one of the fastest project to be completed in Kerala.[2]
Inauguration
It was launched on 2 June 2013 by Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy in the backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake. The inaugural flight took off on time, but after flying for a short distance it was cancelled due to bad weather. It will be officially launched for tourists in August 2013.[3][4] Currently a 5+1 seater Cessna 206H amphibian aircraft is being used for this service. Kerala's Minister for Tourism, A.P. Anil Kumar, has announced that by the end of 2013, four more companies will be launching services from the Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Mangalore airports to backwaters in Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kasargode districts.[5] The inaugural flight was piloted by a Belgian, Captain Michael Fabry, who flew in the aircraft to Kochi from Delhi. The inaugural flight was operated by Kairali Aviation.[1]
Reactions
The inaugural launch received a mixed response with protests by two Left backed organisations of traditional fishermen who claimed that the seaplane service was a threat to their livelihood and marine ecology.[3] Owing to protests, the seaplane was forced to change its landing location.[5] But, Mr. Anil Kumar said, "The fishing community in Kollam has given its approval to the tourism project. Now, we will speak to the community at Alappuzha to convince them that it will not threaten their profession."[6]
Facilities
Facilities like water dromes and floating jetties have already been built by the Kerala Government at Ashtamudi, Kumarakom, Vembanad and Bekal. These are the 4 initial tourist spots being connected by the seaplane. These facilities will also be constructed at 21 other tourist spots later. Houseboats have been deployed at the take-off and landing places for seaplanes and are equipped with special lounges for tourists.[1]
Structure & working
The role of the Kerala Government is only that of a facilitator and regulator. Kerala Tourism will do the work of marketing and promotion. The fares for the seaplane services will be fixed by the operators. The seaplane services will be operated by a total of 5 different operators. These are - Bharat Aviation, Kairali Aviation, Mehair, Pawan Hans and Wings Aviation. The timing of the flights will be from 10am to 5pm.[1] The rate for the flight has been announced as 
6000 per hour, but it may change. Refuelling and maintenance of the seaplanes will be done at their respective base stations of either Trivandrum, Cochin, Calicut and Mangalore airports and not at the water dromes. This is to prevent any harm to marine ecology.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Special Correspondent (2 June 2013). "Tourism to take wings with seaplane's take-off". The Hindu Delhi edition. p. 7.
- ↑ "Seaplane project fastest in Kerala". Times News Network (Thiruvananthapuram, India: The Times of India). 1 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Kerala launches country's first tourist seaplane service". PTI (Kollam, India). 2 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ↑ "Kerala CM inaugurates seaplane Service". newskerala.com (Kollam, India). 2 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Kerala CM Oommen Chandy launches India's first seaplane service". IANS. IBNLive.com. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 IANS (2 June 2013). "Kerala launches India's first seaplane service". Hindustan Times (Kollam, India). Retrieved 3 June 2013.
External links
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