Assam's Santanu Kalita, the man behind India's first sea plane inaugurated by PM today

Ahmedabad: Assam's Santanu Kalita is the man who has been an integral part of the sea plane project. As the chief officer of Spicejet's sea plane department Kalita played a key role in getting the maiden sea plane service of the country off the ground in Kevadia, Gujarat on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country's first sea plane service from Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Gujarat. The event marked the 145th birth anniversary of Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The first of its kind sea plane service will be managed by SpiceJet's Spice Shuttle service. 19-seater planes with a capacity for 12 passengers would be put into service. The planes have been acquired from Maldives and flown in on October 27. Multiple daily flights will be operated between the Sabarmati riverfront and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Statue of Unity. The travel time is expected to come down from four hours by road to 45 minutes by air using the sea plane service.

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