Now, take a seaplane from Ajman to anywhere in UAE

Sharjah - The 9-seater plane will fly from Ajman to Dubai Creek every day.

The maiden Ajman seaplane flight soared into the skies, amid huge excitement and fanfare. The flight, launched by the Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD), took off from Al Zorah Marina I.

The flight - that would attract visitors and tourists - was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, chairman of ATDD.

The regular flights on the Cessna 208 Caravan Seaplanes - which can be pre-booked per person - will take the passengers on a tour of the scenic sites of the emirate. The 9-seater plane will fly from Ajman to Dubai Creek every day. Additionally, residents and tourists can make special bookings to fly to any destination across the UAE.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, top government officials and members of the press, boarded the inaugural seaplane for an aerial tour of Ajman's stunning landmarks, including the Al Zorah Mangrove Reserve, Marina and Ajman's City Centre.

Al Nuaimi said, "Ajman is increasingly offering exciting visitor attractions for our growing market of local, regional and international tourists. We have introduced a slew of new projects. Ajman has much to offer holidaymakers and local visitors looking to try something new and different. With the launch of the seaplane, those interested can now get a unique, bird's eye view of the emirate and travel to Dubai Creek in style. It can also offer tours to all the different emirates in the country."

Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, director-general of ATDD, said, "Our aim is to ensure that Ajman is among the most attractive holiday destination in the region, offering a variety of options for the discerning traveller and local residents. These seaplane tours add to our growing portfolio of high quality tourist excursions and we look forward to the creative packaging of different attractions giving our customers the best experience possible."

Eng Omar Ahmed Bin Omair Al Muhairi, director-general of Public Transport Corporation in Ajman, and executive director of the Civil Aviation Department, said that the launching of the seaplane is an important project as Ajman plans to boost the transport sector.

Imad Dana, CEO, Al Zorah Development Company, said, "We are delighted to offer residents and tourists an opportunity to experience Ajman from an extraordinary perspective with our new seaplane tours at Al Zorah. Guests can now enjoy the picturesque views of the city with Seawings."

Seaplane CEO, Stuart Wheeler, pointed out, "We offer a range of packages for passengers - including tourist, corporate and golf packages - with tours that fuse scenic flights with other luxury activities. Exclusive charters are also available on request to various destinations around the UAE. Now, offering pre-booked excursions over Ajman adds a prestigious new destination to our portfolio."

The Ajman seaplane follows the launch of new eco-tourism excursions in Al Zorah Mangrove Reserve last month in collaboration with Quest for Adventure. Watersports and eco-tourism options are now available in Al Zorah Marina 1, including wake-boarding and kayaking, along with informative tours of the mangroves housing over 100 local and migratory species. This year, edutainment tours - called the Pearl Journey - were also started from Al Zorah Marina 1. The tours combine live demonstrations about the history of pearl diving in the area with a boat trip around the mangroves.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Ajman