The Indian port city of Kochi is one step closer to seeing seaplane operations, with India's Civil Aviation Minister confirming that Seabird Seaplane (Kochi International) was issued a 'no objection certificate'.
"Initial No Objection Certificate (NOC) has been granted to M/s Sea Bird Seaplane Pvt. Ltd., a Cochin [Kochi] based company, to operate non-scheduled air transport service with seaplane Quest Aircraft Kodiak 100 type of aircraft," the Minister told the Lower House in a written statement. "The applicant operator needs to complete the certification process for obtaining Air Operator Permit after which the operator can undertake operations from any waterdrome in the country, with due approval from concerned authorities."
Seabird has been waiting a long time for this step; its first aircraft arrived from the US in October 2015 and spent at least four months shuttling between Colombo and Kochi as it awaited testing and registration. Initial operations to Lakshadweep were expected to start by April 2016.
Lakshadweep is an archipelago off Kerala's coast, which currently has air connections to the mainland via a 6x weekly service from Agatti Island Island to Kochi International. Other islands offer helicopter and boat transfers.
