Sea planes from November

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

SriLankan Airlines is planning to re-launch its sea plane service in November. The national carrier is now planning to hire two aircraft for this purpose. SriLankan air taxis played a key role in the development of tourism and flew from Katunayake to Bentota, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Hingurakgoda, Koggala, Weerawila, Ampara, Ratmalana, Trincomalee, Katukurunda, Sigiriya and Anuradhapura, taking passengers to their destinations in less than one hour.

The airline deployed eight seater Cessna Caravan planes which use lakes, rivers and domestic airstrips to land and take off.

This popular service had to be halted due to many problems including terrorism. It also drew protests from environmentalists who felt that the vibrations from the aircraft could damage dams.

"This time the airline is hoping to avoid this controversy," an official from the airline said.

Minister of Water Management Nimal Siripala De Silva said he is hoping to introduce a boat service in the Mahaweli river and lakes for tourism. "The air taxis could be merged with this scheme," he said.

Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines is also planning to hire two new aircraft with flat bed facility to introduce more luxury to their passengers by the end of the year. "These are expected to be used on the Milan and Rome flights," the official said.