Northeast India Will Soon Welcome Seaplanes As A Travel Option

A recent Airports Authority of India (AAI) report indicates that water aerodrome or seaplane services are likely to be launched at three riverfronts in Assam by early 2021. A popular Northeast Indian tourist spot, Assam had a tourist footfall of over 4.7 million tourists in 2018. With seaplane services introduced in the state,, these figures are likely to soar while trying to improve stately connectivity at the same time.

Planned with a development cost of INR 5 million under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, the Union Government plans to initially launch seaplane services across Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Out of which, three are Assamese locations.

Quoting Sanjeev Jindal, Executive Director (AAI), “At the end of next year or by early 2021, the water aerodrome or seaplane services would be launched in Brahmaputra river and Umrangso reservoir. The three locations selected for the seaplanes include Guwahati, Umrangso (in Dima Hasao district) and the famous Kaziranga National Park.”

Speaking of  these three riverfronts in Assam, a dockyard will be set up at open water stretches.  Thus, connecting their respective terminal buildings to the landingor take–off areas. With this development at pace, you may soon get a chance to buckle up your belts for flying  the skies of Northeast India in a seaplane! What do you think about this seaplane arrangement? Are you excited? Have you visited these areas before? Let us know in the comments below!