THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious seaplane project, grounded by the Oommen Chandy regime soon after being launched by the tourism department in 2013 following protest by fishermen, is all set to stage a comeback by piggybacking on the Kerala State Electricity Board. The KSEB plans to facilitate landing and takeoff of seaplanes using the facilities in its 18 major reservoirs.
The board invited expression of interest on Tuesday from aviation service providers to operate amphibious floatplane and/or helicopter services between its dams and reservoirs. KSEB expects good response to the tender. The role of the board would be only that of a facilitator.
In the first phase, float planes will be launched at the Banasurasagar Dam in Wayanad and Mattupetty Dam in Idukki. Both these dams are tourist destinations and there are several connected tourism spots in Wayanad and Idukki.
“The board’s responsibilities include issuing NoC to qualified operators to permit usage of water bodies as it is owned by us. Also, the board will grant permissive sanction for establishing the minimum necessary infrastructure required for operations. All the operational costs which include lease rentals, cost of crew, fuel, spares, maintenance regulatory fees etc will have to be borne by the service provider”, a senior board official told TNIE. Float Planes were introduced earlier in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat.
Chandy govt considered project a game changer
The advantage of having a float plane is that it requires only a floating dock, adhering to the Director General of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security guidelines. It can also fly to the four regular airports in the state. For operating helicopters, helipads have to be established.
Single engine Fixed Wing Amphibian Float Planes with a capacity of 6-12 passengers or twin engine planes with a capacity of 16 - 22 passengers will be in service. Seaplane project was conceived as a game changer for state tourism by the Oommen Chandy government which came to power in 2011.
Since then, three firms — Maritme Energy Heli Air services, Kairali Aviation and Seabird Seaplane — attempted to launch services connecting backwater and beach destinations. In December 2013, Kairali launched the first seaplane, but the inaugural flight was unsuccessful as fishermen blocked the backwater at Punnamada and prevented it from landing. Agitating fishermen, who had the support of opposition parties, expressed reservation that movement of seaplanes would adversely affect their livelihood.