Commercial seaplanes return to Spain

Commercial seaplanes are set to return with the Spanish airline Surcar Airlines currently testing its aircraft in the Canary Islands. The company has been testing its DHC-6 Twin Otter with a view to offering a service initially between Tenerife and La Palma.
Carlos González, President of the Port Authority in Santa Cruz, that these seaplanes could be “an alternative to inter-island transportation” on shorter routes, providing a faster alternative to the current ferry system.
The company intends to be the first Spanish airline to operate with seaplanes in 65 years, providing what they describe as a “modern version of a romantic, agile and safe form of transport.”
According to the company seaplanes will improve connectivity and enable development on the islands in the same way it has in other cities like Copenhagen, Vancouver or Seattle, where seaplanes have become an important regional mode of transportation over the last 30 years.
The seaplanes will they say, provide a much faster inter-island transfer than currently exists, taking you from Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas to Gran Canaria in half an hour.
The company also believes the seaplanes are more agile and are more sustainable and secure, claiming that up to 30% in emissions are saved just by avoiding trips to the airport.
If the initial tests are successful the company hopes to begin commercial flights by the end of summer and if successful, further routes will be added.
Although the service will be limited in the short term the return of commercial seaplanes to Spain will not only provide interesting viewing, but could bring the islands much closer together.

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