Bhubaneswar | The Civil Aviation Ministry will restart seaplane operations on at least two routes in India by October, Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said here on Monday.

Addressing the Eastern Region Civil Aviation Ministers' Conference, Naidu said, "Seaplane operation was there once, but it was limited to a single route. The government has simplified the guidelines to operate seaplanes, and we hope that by October, we will have two seaplanes in the country operating either on the Andaman & Nicobar, Kerala, or Andhra Pradesh network." He added that the service could also be extended to Odisha's Chilika Lake and the entire eastern coast.

"The service can be started on any water body where you have more than five feet depth and 200 metres of landing space," he said.

Naidu said the norms for setting up a waterdrome, training pilots, and the rules and regulations governing seaplane operations have been simplified.

He urged airline operators present at the conference to explore the opportunity, saying, "There is huge potential for seaplane services, which is being missed out today." The minister also urged states to come forward with innovative ideas and new locations to expand the network.

Stating that there is a growing demand for Flying Training Organisations (FTOs), Naidu said, "Right now, 1,700 planes are on order. Each aircraft requires 20 to 30 pilots. Every year, we must generate 3,000 pilots to meet the demand in India alone," he said.

He added that as India aspires to become a global leader in civil aviation, FTOs need to be of international level.

"To achieve this, the Ministry will start a ranking system for FTOs operating in India from October," he announced.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated the conference in the presence of Naidu, MoS Civil Aviation Mohol Murlidhar, Chhattisgarh Minister Om Prakash Choudhary and senior officers of the civil aviation ministry and eastern states.