 Tourists rediscover their sea wings
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 Romantic nostalgia for the golden age of travel has combined with the commercialism of 21st-century tourism to bring seaplanes to the Mediterranean for the first time in 60 years Seaplanes were a common sight in the Twenties and Thirties but largely died out after the Second World War. Companies in Italy and Greece now believe they will be more profitable because they offer tourists access to remoter areas such as islands, an attractive alternative to increasingly crowded mainland resorts.
The Greek network, run by AirSea Lines, a Greek-Canadian joint venture, started its flights on May 5th 2007 from Lavrion, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Athens, to the islands of Ios, Kalimnos, Mykonos, Paros, Santorini and Kos. Next month there will be regular courses from Corfu to Paxos, Ithaca, Lefkada, Cephalonia, Zakynthos and to the port of Patras, with a link from Patras to Brindezi, in southern Italy.
The Italian service will use amphibious versions of the nine-seater Cessna Caravan 208, with the Greek operation using the 14-seater De Havilland Twin Otter. Aqua Airlines is also planning to bring Twin Otters into service as its network expands.
Date: 18/5/2007
Author: Aspasia Polymerou |
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