Mainland India gets first water aerodrome at Aamby Lake in Lonavala

Mumbai: A Cessna 206 (VT-KPL) amphibian plane made history on Wednesday morning when it touched the calm and pristine waters of Aamby Lake in Lonavala and took off some time later with the ease of a bird. The flight has paved the way for the opening of mainland India’s first water aerodrome.
The trial flight was the final step in securing technical certification for the setting up of a small airport at Aamby Lake for commercial flight operations.
Civil aviation ministry and DGCA officials, who have been conducting certification tests over the past several days, are expected to give the project a final go-ahead within the next couple of weeks.
Days before the test, aviation experts measured and studied the technicalities like length and depth of the lake, water quality, marine life and wind directions, to check the feasibility of the project.
Read News In Full 08/12/13 Shahkar Abidi /Daily News & Analysis