Aviation News

Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Pvt Ltd (MEHAIR) and the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will start its commercial seaplane services from August 25, 2014 with its first flight from Mumbai to Pawana dam(Lonavala).With the launch of the seaplanes service in Maharashtra, MEHAIR has facilitated a new mode of transport to be enjoyed and availed by tourists & locals for a leisure experience as well as point-to-point connectivity.

Siddharth Verma, Co-Founder and Director, MEHAIR, said, "It gives me great pleasure that the first seaplane service in the mainland of India is taking off from Mumbai. It is the first step towards covering India with a seaplane network over the next three to five years.

The seaplane service is being launched in Maharashtra with Cessna 208 Amphibian aircraft (9 seater) and Cessna 206 Amphibian (4 seater). "This is a new and exciting mode of transport which will provide the last mile connectivity to those areas where there is no airport but are popular tourist destinations,"Verma added.

The service will save travel time for the users as compared to the same journey taken by road or rail. MTDC has has signed an MoU with MEHAIR to launch the service in the state by extending its full support. Dr Jagdish Patil, Managing Director, MTDC, said that these services will boost tourism greatly and will turn vacation destinations into weekend destinations as the fatigue involved in reaching these destinations will be reduced.