Bhubaneswar: With the Airport Authority of India (AAI) coming up with an ambitious plan to set up a water aerodrome on Chilika Lake, SpiceJet has offered seaplane service to the Odisha government.
In a letter to the chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Monday, the Spicejet authorities have proposed seaplane service on three routes in the state.
The proposal includes Bhubaneswar to Puri via Chilika, Bhubaneswar to Chandipur via Bhitarkanika and Bhubaneswar to Hirakud.
Acting on the proposal, the General Administration Department has asked the Tourism and Culture Department to take necessary measures.
Notably, a two-day preliminary feasibility for the location of the proposed aerodrome was carried out by a special team on June 15-16. The survey was led by the AAI general manager (architect) Sangita Mahay and senior officials of AAI, SpiceJet, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and the State Water Resources Department.
The team had surveyed the lake area in Satapada in Puri district and Balugaon in Ganjam district. During the survey, the team took stock of the mode of landing of the seaplanes or amphibious aircraft, the direction and location of the proposed aerodrome and depth of the lake water where the proposed aerodrome will be set up.
As the Centre has planned to set up 16 water aerodromes in the country, SpiceJet has unveiled plans to buy over 100 amphibian planes to boost regional operations.
