Seaplane plans in troubled waters

Given the large and small waterbodies that dot the country, India provides an ideal opportunity for seaplane operations. Unlike a conventional aircraft, a seaplane can land both on a waterbody and on land, thereby opening up more opportunities for business and tourism.

Realising this, the government decided to make a second attempt at seaplane operations when it allowed scheduled operators to start their businesses. The first attempt was made by the Manmohan Singh government in 2010 when it launched seaplanes in Juhu in Mumbai and then operations in Andaman and Nicobar islands. Those attempts met with a quick death.

According to R N Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation, “Since (now) they are scheduled operations, safety will be greater than in charter operations.” He adds that even international regulatory bodies prescribe a lower level of safety (for seaplane operations) than for scheduled operations. “Once you are in position to locate a place, say, like Chilka Lake or Sardar Sarovar Dam, you can look at launching seaplane operations. The Airports Authority of India is working on seven locations in the three States of Gujarat, Assam and Odisha.”

First casualty

This optimism, however, seems to have already met its first hurdle. The Kerala government recently decided to withdraw permission for seaplane operations in the State due to apprehensions expressed by the fishing communities that the project could affect their livelihood as also the reported differences between the investors in the consortium that intended to run the project.

Withdrawing from the project, the State government directed the dismantling of all the water-dromes set up for the service at Punnamada, Kumarakom, Ashtamudi and Bakel as well as re-deploying assets like speedboats and jetties in these locations for the promotion of adventure tourism.

The government had spent nearly ₹5.8 crore in creating infrastructure and has now asked that material like luggage scanners, speedboats and jetties be handed over to the respective District Tourism Promotion Centres in Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Malappuram, says P. Bala Kiran, Director, Kerala Tourism.

The consortium had invested close to ₹16 crore and procured an American manufactured 10-seater Quest Kodiak 100 amphibious aircraft, which is lying idle at Cochin International Airport since March 2016, awaiting clearances from DGCA for commercial operations.

Federal Bank, which financed the project, has approached the Debt Recovery Tribunal to recover the ₹6 crore dues extended for the purchase of the aircraft.

Problems galore

The Kerala case seems to be the beginning as others maintain that seaplane operations look good on paper but they may prove to be very difficult to implement. Besides issues like the ones that emerged in Kerala, there is little clarity on the rules that will govern seaplane operations. While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has laid down rules for setting up water aerodromes, other arms of the government are yet to come up with specific rules for seaplane operations.

“It is a nascent area. The rules for this should be framed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) which regulates and develops infrastructure for waterways,” says a Shipping Ministry official. However, when contacted, an IWAI official says they are not aware of “water-drome plans”. Industry watchers feel that the high duties which the import of aircraft attract could also hamper the implementation of the project.

An optimistic few

However, some industry players are still optimistic about the success of seaplane operations. Sharat Dhall, Chief Operating Officer, (B2C), Yatra.com, feels that there is an opportunity to use India’s large network of river bodies and its large coastline via the introduction of amphibian sea planes in specific parts of the country.

“The objective of setting up seaplane operations is to increase connectivity in remote places without the huge cost of building highways and runways,” Dhall argues.

He points out that Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, the North-East, Andamans, Lakshadweep and other coastal areas are some destinations that could be amenable to seaplane operations.

Abhijit Mishra, Director, India and Middle East, KAYAK, believes that India, as a market, is very open to newer developments and experimentation and points out that there has been a rise in air passenger traffic in recent times, creating an increasing demand and with seaplane operations coming into action, a lot of destinations that are currently not so easily accessible will create greater avenues for connectivity and growth.

Such optimism also perhaps explains why SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s Setouchi Holdings to explore opportunities to acquire small amphibious aircraft to improve air connectivity to places that do not have airport infrastructure. SpiceJet signed the MoU in October last year for acquiring upto 100 amphibian aircraft. The deal is valued at $400 million, with the aircraft being able to land both on land and water.

Similarly, T.S. Rawat, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand, is banking on starting seaplane operations on Tehri Lake to attract Indian and foreign tourists to his State.

What adds to the glamour and push for seaplane operations is that Narendra Modi travelled by a seaplane in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections as did Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

But glamour alone does not seem to be enough for this mode of travel to take off.

With inputs from Mamuni Das

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