Regular seaplane services could soon become a reality in India within the next 2-3 months, with the Lakshadweep archipelago likely to be the first to get the same. One of the world’s biggest seaplane makers, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd, is flying in a DHC-6 Twin Otter Classic 300-G to India on Wednesday. The aircraft will land at Ahmedabad airport and from there begin its journey across waterbodies in India — starting from Vijaywada and then going to Mysore, Lakshadweep before heading to Shillong.
Incidentally, Ahmedabad had seen seaplane service four years ago when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the country’s first route between the Statue of Unity near Kevadiya in Gujarat’s Narmada district and Sabarmati riverfront. While the service did not last long, sources say the relaunch of seaplanes in India is going to be on much firmer grounds this time. Govt is very keen to have seaplanes on regional routes under the UDAN scheme.
The aircraft on its way to India, which has got special country-specific branding, is coming from Canada via Switzerland. From there it flew to Greece, Riyadh, Oman and will land in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The journey from Switzerland was covered in two days. “Using a ferry tank (an extra fuel tank), this aircraft crossed the Atlantic non-stop on its way to Europe. With a crew of two pilots, the aircraft can do ferry flights (with no passengers) of up to 5 hours,” said people in the know.
From Ahmedabad, the aircraft will go to Vijaywada where Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu are scheduled to launch ‘India’s inaugural Twin Otter amphibious aircraft demo’ starting with take-offs and landings on the Krishna river on Nov 9.
Aviation industry insiders say some Indian companies are in talks with De Havilland to start seaplane operations. Initially about 2-3 companies may go for long-term leases of used seaplanes. The list price for a brand new DHC-6 Twin Otter Classic 300-G is $7.8 million while monthly lease rental for the same is about $70,000. The price and lease of a used one is about half this amount. Known for its sturdiness, the Twin Otter that came to Ahmedabad from Maldives in 2020 was 50 years old.
India has framed rules for seaplane operations, complete with seaport specifications. “Govt has been very keen to have this service in India. The PM’s visit to Lakshadweep has given a further filip to this and we could soon hear announcements from some players very soon,” said people in the know.
