Pawan Hans had even sent a delegation to Maldives last year to study the Maldives air taxi system and had returned quite impressed and eager to replicate the model in India. Maldivian Air Taxi is a Danish airline company based in Male in the Maldives. It operates float-equipped aircraft, some 20 sea planer twin otters, on tourist charters and Government VIP flights throughout the Maldives.

Lakshadweep with a single airport faces major problems in reaching other islands by air and hopes to address it through induction of seaplanes. It has long been mulling such a service and a private aviation company had even proposed the same to the UT administration earlier. A study on safety and operational requirements for seaplanes was also conducted and the islands of Bangaram, Kadamat, Kalpeni, Kavaratti and Minicoy were found suitable for their operation. The island’s administration had last year inducted high-speed boats connecting different islands of the Union Territory.