Thiruvananthapuram: It's all systems go for Kerala's seaplane project. K M Chandrasekhar, vice-chairman, planning board, held a final review meeting on Friday and was briefed by tourism secretary SumanBilla on the various levels of clearances sanctioned by the Centre.
"All that remains is for the seaplane operators to file their standard operating procedure and acquire a final level of clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security," said the tourism secretary.
Speculations are rife that five seaplane operators, who registered for the early bird incentive but were unable to stick to the January 31 deadline for conducting a test flight due to delay in acquiring a DGCA import licence to bring their aircrafts, might get a second chance as the tourism department is considering extension of the deadline.
"There are enough operators, so it seems that our approach was right. The idea is to start latest by April as all GOI clearances are in the bag," said Chandrasekhar.
Simultaneously, 70% police officers selected as part of the Airport Security Group, who underwent training under BCAS personnel, have cleared their exams. They will be put on the crucial baggage screening programme, while those with lesser grades will be put on other duties such as perimeter security and frisking of passengers.
22/02/13 Sangeetha Nair/Times of India
