India’s First-Ever Seaplane Service Starts In Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated India’s first-ever seaplane services in Gujarat today. The seaplane service is launched between Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and the Statue of Unity in Kevadia. It will be operated by SpiceJet’s fully-owned subsidiary, Spice Shuttle. The service is expected to boost travel and tourism and provide last-mile connectivity.

The one-of-a-kind seaplane that will give flight to a million dreams made its way to Kevadia (Statue of Unity) at 12.30 pm yesterday from Maldives. In the next few days it will undergo extensive trials, following which it will be all set to take off, starting October 31st, 2020. pic.twitter.com/Fkgbdp3Qdj

— Spice Shuttle (@flySpiceShuttle) October 27, 2020

Here is all you need to know about the Sea Plane Service:

• The seaplane service SpiceShuttle will operate multiple daily flights between Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and the Statue of Unity in Kevadia.
• SpiceJet will operate two daily flights on the Ahmedabad-Kevadia route effective October 31.
• The all-inclusive one-way fares will begin from as low as Rs. 1500 under the UDAN scheme.
• The tickets could be bought on spiceshuttle.com.
•  SpiceJet will be using a 15-seater Twin Otter 300 aircraft for these flights.
• SpiceJet has secured 18 seaplane routes under the UDAN which includes – Ahmedabad-Kevadia (Sabarmati River Front to Statue of Unity, Sardar Sarovar), Agatti-Minicoy, Agatti-Kavaratti among others.
• Regions in the North East, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andaman, Lakshadweep and other coastal areas are a few destinations that are being evaluated for amphibious plane operations.

  What are seaplanes?

Seaplanes are typically fixed-wing aircraft with a much fewer number of seats and can take off from, and land on, water. These aircraft use a water aerodrome or seaplane base, which is an area of open water used by them (seaplanes), for landing and taking off. Seaplanes are reliable, tough and resilient making these smaller fixed-wing aircraft land on water bodies, gravel and grass easily. They can land in water bodies like lakes, backwaters and dams thus offering easy access to numerous tourist spots as well.

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