Seaplanes from Kerala to take wings soon

Trivandrum: Kerala Tourism's ambitious seaplane tourism, grounded following protests from the fisher folk, is set to take wings with a Cochin-based firm readying for connecting destinations in the state and Lakshadweep, a group of tiny islands in the western part of India.
Seabird Seaplane Private Ltd, an initiative of two technocrats and financially supported by an associate company of state-owned Inkel Limited, will operate the service soon with Quest Kodiak 100 amphibian, a 10-seater seaplane. The seaplane imported from the United States arrived at the Cochin International Airport on Friday night.
The aircraft was flown by two Cochin-based pilots from the US on September 27 after flying for 80 hours over four continents -- North America, Europe, Africa and Asia - in weather conditions varying from minus 20 degrees Celsius to plus 50 degrees. En route, it halted at 20 places for refueling. The service is expected to be commenced within a month as the aircraft requires some formal sanctions from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Company sources that this may take about a month. Apart from this the flight also has to undergo training sessions.
The aircraft can fly at over 300 kms an hour. The company sources said that they had selected Lakshadweep for launching the service as there is huge tourist traffic potential in the route.
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• India