Seaplane service between Ahmedabad-Kevadia suspended for 15 days

Spice Shuttle has suspended the Seaplane operations between Ahmedabad and Kevadia due to mandatory aircraft maintenance work for a few days. The 19-seater seaplane (Twin Otter 300 seaplane) has been sent to the Maldives and the operation will start once it is back. The airline said that they will resume the operations in about 15 days time.

In a tweet, it said, “Seaplane operations have been temporarily suspended due to mandatory aircraft maintenance. Since the maintenance facility (dry and wet dock) is still under construction at Ahmedabad; we have to send the aircraft to our lessor’s facility in Maldives. We will resume operations in about 15 days’ time, once the aircraft is back. Such prolong suspension will be avoided in the future as the maintenance facility (dry and wet docks) at Ahmedabad will be ready during this period.”

In a bid to boost travel and tourism, the country’s first seaplane service from Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Ashram and the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, was commenced on October 31, 2020, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It took half an hour to cover the distance (200 km) between the two places.

Earlier on November 05, 2020, the seaplane underwent routine maintenance.

Spice Shuttle, a fully- owned subsidiary of Spice Jet has planned to operate four round-trips of seaplane in a day. SpiceJet has secured 18 seaplane routes under the central government’s UDAN scheme. SpiceJet has already held trials in Nagpur, Guwahati, and Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty.