It takes around 3 hours from the Cochin International Airport and 3.5 hours from the Ernakulam railway station to reach Munnar via road. Once the under-trial seaplane service begins, you can reach Munnar from Kochi in seaplane in under 25 minutes. At present, tourists travel via the Neriaymangalam and Adimali routes to Munnar. Around 14.1 kilometres of this route passes through forest area. As night travel is precarious here, tourists leave Munnar by noon.
Such travel restrictions often affect Munnar's tourism prospects, especially during the off-season. The authorities hope the tour companies will bring more international tourists to Munnar and nearby areas if the travelling time is significantly reduced. Besides, a seaplane service could transport patients from Munnar, where medical facilities are limited to Kochi, in case of emergencies. It would also benefit the people of nearby hamlets in Kanthalloor and Marayoor.
The seaplane service has been launched as part of the central government’s UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik) project, which aims to improve air connectivity to remote and regional areas of India. The project also encourages tourists and common people to travel in airplanes to tourist spots in the villages. The 17-seater seaplane owned by the de Havilland company based in Canada successfully completed the test flight here with support from Spice Jet.
Ticket charges
The authorities have not announced the Kochi - Munnar seaplane ticket charges yet as they are in the trial phase. However, considering the charges levied for similar services like the now-defunct Gurugram to the Statue of Liberty under the UDAN scheme in the past, one-way fares are likely to begin from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000. The tickets were also primarily sold through the spiceshuttle.com website, in addition to other platforms. Seaplanes generally fly only during the daytime, from sunrise to sunset. The standard permissible luggage weight on seaplanes is 25 kg – 20 as check-in baggage and 5 kg cabin baggage.
Will seaplanes disrupt elephant movement?
Meanwhile, the forest department expressed concern that the sound of the seaplane might disrupt elephant movement in Mattupetty. There are ten wild elephants in the forest area here. They often come to the Mattupetty dam and nearby areas to drink water. The whizzing sound of the seaplane propellor might scare the elephants. So, the higher authorities of the forest department have urged the KSEB, Cochin International Airport and tourism department authorities to give up the latest move to land the seaplane in the Mattupetty reservoir. The seaplane initially planned to land in Idukki dam was later moved to Mattupetty due to objection from the forest department.
