Seaplanes in the skies of Kerala
Kerala will soon take advantage of its coastline. Seaplanes, water taxis and cruises will soon be a permanent fixture on its water front. Kerala government hopes to commence the seaplanes services in Kerala from Feb. 2013.
“Kerala has a beautiful aerial view and we want our tourist to get a glimpse of the picturesque landscape of the state. By travelling on a seaplane, the tourist visiting Kerala will get a very different perspective and experience of the state,”
The state government is investing ` 12 crore in the project and has identified 22 locations all around the state that will be connected by air using the water bodies. Initially, the services will be available from all three international airports i. e Kochi, Calicut and Trivandrum to Kumarakam, Alappuzha, Munnar and Bekal.
“We will create the infrastructure and waterdromes for seaplanes to operate in the state. We have already received interest from 58 private operators for this project. Seaplanes will allow a tourist to ticket themselves from anywhere in the world to any international airport of Kerala and then seamlessly interchange to a sea plane for a destination of their choice like Munnar or Kumarakom.” says
Suman Billa, Secretary, Dept of Tourism, Govt of Kerala.
Kerala has a coastline of 580 km with 44 rivers and 1,895 km of inland waterways making it ideal to use its vast waterbodies for transportation. Also, the state is facing severe traffic problems and is struggling to acquire land for road widening to ease the traffic connectivity between tourist spots. The seaplanes will help the tourists in avoiding the traffic woes of the state and add to their convenience. says A P Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala.
Seaplanes also operate in the Andamans and Nicobar islands. In the past, plans to introduce seaplanes in Goa, Lakshadweep and Maharashtra have been in vain.