Regional Indian operator flybig (FLG, Indore) intends to start amphibious Viking Air Twin Otter flights to the Andaman and Car Nicobar islands by the end of the year, chairman and managing director Sanjay Mandavia told India's Financial Express newspaper. This follows last month's release by India's civil aviation ministry of guidelines for seaplane operations under the state-sponsored UDAN regional connectivity scheme.
“We will potentially start by the end of the year or early next year depending on approvals and the arrival of our first aircraft," he said, adding that he expects delivery of the first amphibious Twin Otter by the end of October. The proposed service will be the first regularly scheduled seaplane flights into Car Nicobar Island and Campbell Bay, he added.
The operator currently flies to eight airports in India, Lucknow, Dehra Dun, Bathinda, Ghaziabad, Pantnagar, Chitrakoot, Aligarh, and Azamgarh, with three DHC-6-400s. The ch-aviation fleets module indicates the carrier is expecting another two of the type, with one identified as msn 855 and formerly placed at Execaire (Montréal Trudeau) as C-GKUT.
ch-aviation has contacted flybig for further details.
Last month, India's civil aviation ministry issued guidelines for seaplane operators who wanted to participate in the government's UDAN regional air connectivity scheme. Under the regime, there are easier training requirements and simplified approval processes for amphibious operators, and there will be no need for a waterdrome licence. The Indian government says it wants to establish water aerodromes at 18 spots spread across Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Goa, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
