The first Greek seaplane test flights on a 10-seat Quest Kodiak aircraft were successfully completed on the island of Corfu last weekend, following seven years of efforts to establish seaplane flight connections in Greece.
The seaplane repeatedly took off and landed from the port of Corfu and designated destinations in nearby Paxoi and other Ionian islands.
The test flights were carried out by Water Airports SA, the seaplane base management organisation, in collaboration with K2 Smart Jets and the Japanese groups Setouchi Holdings and Mitsui & Co.
“It is a struggle that began roughly seven years ago and today we have the first test flight in Greece and specifically in Corfu. Our goal is to begin operating flights immediately when the next tourist season starts but that depends on whether state mechanisms, which are particularly slow, will work at corresponding speeds so that we can achieve our goal,” said Andreas Karotsieris, owner of K2 Smart Jets.
Water Airports SA has so far managed to obtain licences for the three first seaplane bases in Greece, to be set up in Corfu, Paxi and Patras.
It has also initiated processes for the licencing of another 34 seaplane bases in various island and coastal areas in the Ionian Sea, Crete, Cyclades, the Dodecanese, Saronic Gulf, the Peloponnese and Attica.
The company’s immediate plans are to launch regular flights from Corfu in spring, initially using one 10-seat and one 19-seat seaplane.
Source: AMNA
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