Spicejet will soon introduce seaplanes on Brahmaputra. Ajay Singh, Chief Managing Director of the low-cost airline announced this on Saturday, at the Advantage Assam global investor’s summit underway at the Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati.
At the inaugural ceremony of the summit Ajay Singh said, “We are exploring possibilities for introducing seaplanes in Assam. With the seaplanes, Brahmaputra can be the largest waterway in the world.”
Seaplane services can also be helpful during medical emergencies.
Seaplanes are typically fixed-wing aircraft with less seats and can take off/land on water.
They have been use since 19th century but have lagged behind full-fledged aircraft after heavy investments were made in setting up airports in the 20th century. They have been re-emerging as a niche segment.
On the air network, the he said “We propose to connect Assam to Thailand, Myanmar and other ASEAN countries. This will surely help the region grow economically.”
SpiceJet also aims to help the agriculture sector of Assam and has begun transporting consignments of fresh vegetables and fruits to other parts of the country, Singh informed.
“Going forward, SpiceJet will invest in creating a modern supply chain network and build storage capacities across Assam. We want to help the government actively in its ‘Act East Policy’,” he added.
Apart from that, Spicejet is also set to connect Lakhimpur with Jorhat.
“For India to grow, it is critical that Northeast grows. And, Northeast cannot grow without connectivity. Spice Jet connects cities Guwahati, Silchar and Dibrugarh to other parts of the country. And under UDAN, we will soon be connecting Lakhimpur and Jorhat,” Singh said.
This move of the airlines will form part of Centre’s UDAN or Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), an initiative to make air travel to India’s tier 2 and 3 cities affordable and at the same time putting remote regions of the country on country’s aviation map.