Seaplane service: Sai devotees to reach Shirdi temple in just 45 minutes from Mumbai

New Delhi:  Devotees can't stay back when their beloved himself wants them to pay a visit. This holds true for the devotees and followers  of Sai Baba.
By Sai's grace, devotees can now  travel to Shirdi within few minutes from Mumbai. Now, devotees can take Baba's blessing and take Nasik's Shani Shinglapur darshan in mere 45 minutes.
This 45 minutes travel between devotees and Baba has become possible with the help of a sea plane. This sea plane not only flies high in the sky and runs on  the ground but it also dives deep in the sea.
It's great news for baba's devotees. At one moment the devotees would be in there home planning their trip and in next 45 minutes they would be taking baba's blessings.

Seaplanes, helicopters likely to propel Goa tourism this Christmas

Panaji: Goa tourism is expected to get a fillip this Christmas with the likely introduction of seaplanes and heli-tourism, and a little later by the launch of the amphibious bus, tourism minister Dilip Parulekar told TOI.

Parulekar said that the tourism department has given its NOCs to these three ventures and that these companies are now awaiting central government clearances.

For example, the seaplane venture has been issued licences by the tourism department and the captain of ports. The company has to now get clearance from the Union civil aviation ministry, Parulekar said.

Seaplanes to reach Gangapur

Nashik: After Pawana dam in Lonavala, the next stop of the seaplanes taking off from Juhu in Mumbai will be Gangapur dam in Nashik.

The water resources department, Nashik, on Tuesday confirmed that the seaplane services would start in Nashik. "A nine-seater seaplane will land in the backwaters of the Gangapur dam. We are in the process of finalising an agreement with the engineers concerned. On behalf of the water resources department, the Godavari Mahamandal is engaged in the agreement process with the executive engineers," executive engineer of the water resources department Sunil Bafna told TOI.

Come Monday, you can take off for Lonavla

After a hiatus of more than a year, city's first seaplane service will take off for Pawana dam in Lonavala from Juhu airport on August 25. Trips to other destinations in the state, including Girgaum Chowpatty in South Mumbai, will start as and when permissions for the same are granted, said officials from state tourism department.
What is a seaplane?
A seaplane, also called as amphibian plane, has the mechanism to land on land as well as on water.
Why has this service been started?
The seaplane will make several popular tourist destinations across the state, which have not been reachable by air so far for want of an airport, accessible to people, thus promoting tourism in Maharashtra.

Government plans to introduce alternative travel options like sea planes, helipads along national highways

New Delhi: : Boarding a flight from Bombay Port or a riverside terminus on the Ganga to fly (or sailBSE -0.17 %) into the hinterland, or taking a helicopter in the middle of a highway journey could become genuine alternative travel options, with the Narendra Modi government encouraging sea plane operations, passenger ships on river-ways and helipads along national highways. It is also examining the possibility of using amphibian buses to decongest traffic in sea-side cities like Mumbai.

The Bombay Port Trust has already got the nod to launch sea plane operations along with the Maharasthra Tourism Development Corporation and plans are afoot to offer similar services from all of India's 12 major ports and many of the 200 minor ports.

Mehair seaplane services may take off in August

Mumbai: The much-awaited seaplane services that were to be launched by Mehair from the mainland here may take off in August after two deferments as the operator is likely to receive the nod from the Maharashtra government by this month-end.
Maritime Energy Heli Air Services (Mehair) had put off the launch of the maiden services twice in the past.
On the first occasion, it postponed the launch of the service to Aamby Valley with the arrest of Sahara chief Subrata Roy, and second time due to its failure to secure clearance from the state irrigation department to commence operations to Mula and Pawana dams.

Seaplane To Be Launched “Again”

Trivandrum: There are indications from the Government that seaplane travel, a special package for tourists, will be launched in our inland waters this September around the time of the Onam festivities. Chief Minister announced the same recently, during one of his speeches.

 According to the original plans, the seaplane project was scheduled to take-off on June 2, 2013. But, amid protests from various trade unions representing the fisher folk community, the take off was ‘grounded’. The authorities cited weather as the spoilsport!
A top official from Kerala Tourism Infrastructure Limited (KTIL) told Yentha, “Our infrastructure is ready. We are waiting for the necessary permission for the private planes from Director General of Civil Aviation, a central Government entity. By September we expect planes to arrive.” He adds, “The negotiations with the unions of fishermen who opposed the project are at various stages. A safe arrangement with the fisher folk is being planned.”