At the same time, no decision has been taken on either the date of launch or service schedule. “A committee with representatives from the tourism department, Inland Waterways Authority and other associated departments will be formed to arrive at an action plan. Once the plan is formulated, the government will come up with a policy framework. That will happen in the coming months,” the official said. Permanent landing spots for the seaplane too have to be decided, the official pointed out. “The preferred landing places are reservoirs and lakes, like Punnamada. All these will be decided by the committee,” he said.

As for the service provider, the official said. “This was just a trial flight. The department will be calling for expressions of interest from other players in the sector before deciding on the operator,” he said.

Once the services become operational and multiple flights are chartered, CIAL can serve as the control room, he added.

The project does face some turbulence with forest department officials raising concerns that it could cause disturbances in eco-sensitive areas, like the national parks of Mannavan Shola, Anamudi Sholai, and Mathikettan Sholai, that lie in the flight path to Mattupetty.

Regular flights will disturb the elephant population in the areas near the proposed landing and take-off site, the forest department pointed out. “The proposed site is known for the presence and movement of elephants and has witnessed human-elephant conflicts. Hence, an environmental impact assessment is needed before going ahead with the project,” an official said.

However, Irrigation Minister Roshy Augustine said the forest department should not try to block the ambitious seaplane project. The government will proceed with the launch of the services at all reservoirs in the state, he said.

Seaplane project

Aim

Improving connectivity between airports, hill stations and backwaters of Kerala

Fare: Subsidised rates

Waterbodies preferred: Lakes, reservoirs

Boarding structure: Floating waterdromes

5,669.9 kg Max takeoff weight

5,579.2 kg Max landing weight

3,377 kg Weight when empty

170 knots (314.84 kmph) Max speed

150 knots (277.8 kmph) Cruise speed

58 knots (107.4 kmph) Stall speed

1,600 ft/min Rate of climb

25,000 ft Service ceiling

1,703.84 km Max range

1,419.5 litres Max fuel capacity

336.9 litres Optional long-range fuel

2 Pratt & Whitney PT6A-20 engines