Mainland India’s first water aerodrome is finally ready for commercial operations.
When a Cessna 206 (VT-KPL) amphibious plane touched the pristine and placid waters of Amby lake in Lonavla and later took off with ease on Wednesday morning, it made history.
The trial was the final step for a technical certification for commercial operations. “Services to Amby lake will start soon,” Jagdish Patil, MD, Maharastra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), said. A seaplane from Juhu airport to Amby lake takes 25-28 minutes.
Civil aviation ministry and Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials have been conducting the certification test for several days, and the final go-ahead is expected within a week or two.
Days before the trial test, aviation experts, civil aviation and DGCA officials measured and studied technicalities like the lake’s length and depth, water quality, marine life and wind direction.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) norms prescribe a minimum length of around 1km and a depth of not less than 10 feet for a water aerodrome. Amby lake is 1.7-km long and 80-feet deep. India’s first water aerodrome was built in Andaman island around three years ago.
Around 1,200 km away from mainland India, the islands of Andaman and Nicobar are geographically closer to Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand than to the Indian mainland.
Though Kerala also had toyed with the idea of a water aerodrome, it had to be given up on opposition from the local fishing community, which did not allow the first seaplane to land on water.
“The test drive at Amby lake has finally been completed and a report has been submitted to civil aviation authorities,” said Siddharth Verma, CEO-director, Mehair Pvt Ltd, a city-based aviation company.
Mehair had first planned seaplane services from Juhu airport to Girgaum Chowpatty, eyeing working executives and tourists. The new water aerodrome will be used by Mehair for a seaplane project with MTDC to promote tourism in the state.
“However, with the ministry of defence (MOD) not giving a no-objection certificate even after waiting for more than a year, Mehair and MTDC decided to start the project at other spots,” said a state government official.
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