The Government of India plans to set up 14 more water aerodromes across India under the Regional Connectivity Scheme(RCS) UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation(MoCA). This follows the launch of the first seaplane service between the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya of Narmada Gujarat and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.
These 14 aerodromes will enable seaplane services on multiple routes which includes, lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) requested the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for the following assistance.
- To conduct a hydrographic survey
- To provide assistance in setting up floating jetties to enable the movement of passengers
- To set up navigation buoys.
The Potential locations:
i.Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand.
ii.Khindsi Dam and Erai Dam in Maharashtra.
iii.Guwahati riverfront and Umrangso reservoir in Assam.
iv.Prakasam barrage in Andhra Pradesh.
v.Havelock, Neil, Long and Hutbay islands in Andaman & Nicobar.
vi.Minicoy and Kavaratti in Lakshadweep.
vii.Dharoi and Shatrunjaya in Gujarat.
About the Seaplanes:
i.The Twin Otters, a 14 passenger commuter airplane, certified by the Canadian Department of Transportation under the normal category will be utilised for this initiative.
ii.The Twin Otters is an unpressurised, all metal, high wing, twin turboprop aircraft.
Key Points:
i.The Directorate of General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) under the ministry of Shipping has utilised the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) technology, a system to provide the provisional correction to GPS signal to mark the runway in the shallow waters of Gujarat.
ii.For the operation during the night, this provision has been made over the navigation buoys for fixing the automated navigation lights.
iii.SpiceJet has chartered a seaplane from Maldives and more seaplanes like this will be hired after the commencement of the services.
Note:
The Gujarat Government has cleared a proposal to enter a tri-party agreement with MoCA and AAI for the development of four water aerodromes for seaplanes service under RCS.
Recent Related News:
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to develop at least 100 Airports, Waterdromes, and Heliports by 2024 under UDAN (“Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik”)-Regional Air Connectivity Scheme.
About Ministry of Civil Aviation:
Union Minister– Hardeep Singh Puri
About Airport Authority of India(AAI):
Chairman- Arvind Singh
Headquarters– New Delhi
