DGCA grants licence to India’s first seaplane airline; service to start in Lakshadweep

NEW DELHI: After some fits and starts in the past, India will again see seaplane services. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted air operator certificate (AOC or licence) to SkyHop Aviation which plans to become India’s first dedicated commercial seaplane operator.In the first phase, SkyHop plans to connect five islands in Lakshadweep with each other and with the mainland. Operations will begin with a 19-seater aircraft. The airline says it is evaluating opportunities in other parts of the country.SkyHop Aviation founder & CEO Avani Singh, and daughter of SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh, said: “Receiving the AOC is an important milestone for us… and gives us the foundation to move ahead with confidence…. Our aim is simple – to offer a safe, reliable and new way of connecting parts of India that are still difficult to access. We hope to deliver an experience that is both practical and memorable for travellers, while contributing in a small but meaningful way to regional access and national integration.”For its seaplane service, SkyHop’s has converted the aircraft of a non-operational airline seaplane by getting floats affixed. The aircraft, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, had conducted test flights in Uttarakhand to and from the Ganga Barrage in Haridwar earlier this month.The aircraft belonged to erstwhile Fly Big airline which had stopped flying some time back. After this Budget’s push to seaplane service, Union aviation secretary Samir Sinha had asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to certify the change of this aircraft to a seaplane by getting floats affixed. Accordingly, after the aircraft was modified in India by getting floats here, the DGCA had issued the certificate of airworthiness to the aircraft and it approved its operating procedure.This is the first time and aircraft converted/modified on India as a seaplane took to the skies. In the past, seaplanes came to India as seaplanes and then flew here with a mixed record of continuing operations on a sustained basis.In this Budget, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said: “To enhance last-mile and remote connectivity, and promote tourism, I propose to give incentives to indigenise manufacturing of seaplanes. A seaplane viability gap funding scheme will be also be introduced to provide support for operations.” The recently revised UDAN scheme also plans to have more seaplane services.SpiceJet had briefly started seaplane service in Gujarat some years ago but could not sustain the same. This time officials expect things to be different with the renewed govt focus on this service.