Maldives Seaplane

MALDIVES SEAPLANE- THINGS TO KNOW A seaplane, as its name suggests is an aircraft which takes off and lands on water. The most common hotel transfer in Maldives other than a boat ride is seaplane. For people who have never flown on a seaplane before or are curious about their journey, this blog will help you with all the information on Maldives Seaplane. Share now What to expect on your seaplane transfer? Seaplanes are operated by many airlines like Trans Maldivian Airways(TMA), Manta Air,Maldivian Seaplane etc. Seaplanes are usually booked by your resort directly. Seaplanes are compact and can carry up to 15-17 passengers at a time. Seaplane rides last from 40 mins to one hour, depending how far your resort is located. Seaplanes are expensive and can cost from 270 US $ to 590 US $ (return journey) per person depending on the distance of your resort from International Airport. Seaplanes operate during daytime between 6.00 hrs to 15.30 hrs, 7 days a week . Last seaplane will take off before sunset for visibility and safety issues. If your International flight lands after 15.00 hrs, passengers usually have to stay overnight in Male or in the airport hotel and take the seaplane available next day Arrival and Departure timings of seaplane vary and are worked out on daily basis. Timings are confirmed usually one to two days prior to your flight depending on number of passengers and arrival times. Baggage allowance on seaplane is usually 20kg +5 kg per person. You can opt and pay for extra luggage if you wish to. Excess baggage charge is 5 $ per Kg, maximum of 32kg per piece and subject to aircraft space and payload availability. Check In Counters Check In Counters Landing and take off depends on the roughness of the sea and weather conditions. If the weather conditions are poor seaplane cannot take off Be prepared for delays,as seaplanes are never on time If your seaplane is cancelled for some reason, and you don’t want to stay overnight in Male, you can look for other options like a domestic flight or a speed boat ride depending on the distance of your resort from International Airport. You can choose to transfer one way by seaplane and other way by speed boat ride is you are on a budget constraint. Seaplanes are compact and can get claustrophobic for some. There are no A/C’s in seaplanes and it can get hot by the time the seaplane takes off. However there will be fans. Seaplanes are extremely noisy, and can get choppy at times if the sea is rough. There are no washrooms/toilets on seaplane. Also, business class option is unavailable. Also, no food and drinks are served on seaplane. By a seaplane you directly reach your resort, in cases where resorts have their own seaplane jetty where you just walk to the plane. But few resorts land seaplanes on floating pontoon in the middle of the sea. From here there will be a short speed boat ride. The resort will itself book seaplane transfer for you and you cannot directly book it. Seaplane terminals are near the airport and can be reached by a car/bus which is provided free of cost. Many seaplane operators have lounge access as well. From Inside Gorgeous Views How does it work? A guide on how to catch a seaplane once you book it and land at the International Airport in Male, Maldives. Once you book your resort, they will book and arrange the seaplane transfer for you. After completing your immigration and once you collect your luggage you will see a resort representative. He will take you to the seaplane check in counter which are located near the arrival hall. Arrivals You will have to leave your luggage there. You will be then transferred by car/bus to the seaplane terminal which is a 10 min ride from airport. Some resorts have their private luxury vehicles for transfers. You will have to wait approx. 2 hours for you to board your seaplane flight till all the guests from your resort or route join in. There are small lounges inside the terminals usually to wait during this time.Seaplane boarding passes dont have seat numbers so you just walk to the plane and sit wherever you wish. Sea Terminal Lounge Area Sea Terminal As mentioned earlier, seaplanes are extremely noisy and compact.  As there is no A/C and just fans, it can get stuffy and hot. Luggage is stored at the back of plane. As there is limited space, you can keep a small purse or backpack with you. You can handover your cabin luggage to the crew to store at the back of the flight. Don’t forget to enjoy your first seaplane ride with some gorgeous views 🙂   Gorgeous Views Seaplane from inside Like this article? Facebook Twitter Email WhatsApp Pinterest Telegram