“With India having a long coast line, there is a need for concerted efforts to promote sea plane operations. They are significant for the economy of islands like Anadaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep,” said S N A Zaidi, Civil Aviation Secretary while addressing a seminar on “Operations of Sea plane in India”.
The seminar was organised by Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited which has started the country’s first sea-plane operations — Jal Hans — in Andamans and Nicobar Islands.
To promote the sector, the Civil Aviation Ministry has created a separate department to look after the matters related to infrastructure, safety, security and regulatory issues.
The Civil Aviation Secretary said there was a requirement of over 1,000 sea planes world wide in next decade and “10 per cent of them should come to India”.
