Govt plans waterdromes for seaplanes' take off

The government will conduct a feasibility study to explore the possibility of having waterdromes for operating seaplanes, a senior official said today.
The civil aviation ministry official said some entities have expressed interest for starting seaplane operations from different parts of the country.
A waterdrome can be described as a water body that complies with certain minimum requirements for landing of an aircraft, according to the official.
Seaplanes can land on water bodies, while amphibian planes can operate on land as well as on water bodies.
A joint team comprising officials from the ministry, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would be conducting the "preliminary feasibility study", the official said.

Requirements such as minimum depth of water would be looked into and the report is expected in two months, the official added.

A list of around 16 to 20 places that could be utilised as waterdromes have been suggested and the joint team would look into their feasibility aspects.
Already, there is a CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) for seaplanes.
After carrying out the feasibility study and taking into consideration other aspects, a decision would be taken on whether to fine tune the existing norms, the official added.
The official said helicopter services provider Pawan Hans had earlier operated sea planes in Andaman area.

Under the ambitious Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), seaplanes are permitted to fly.
"Operations under the Scheme will be permitted through fixed wing aircraft (including sea planes) and helicopters," as per the final RCS document.
The RCS, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) aims to connect unserved and under-served airports as well as make flying more affordable.
Most of the amphibian planes have single engine and presently, single engine aircraft are not allowed to operate scheduled services.
On October 4, SpiceJet unveiled plans to purchase more than 100 amphibian planes, estimated to cost USD 400 million, as the no-frills airline looks to boost regional operations,

The budget carrier has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan's Setouchi Holdings to explore whether the amphibian planes can be used by the airline in a cost effective manner.