Seaplane flights from Lake Burley Griffin are ready for take-off.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One of the two operators planning flights from the lake is expected to get the final licence very soon, perhaps this week. He reckons that trips could then be available by the end of February.
"We are pretty close," South Coast Seaplanes chief pilot Tim Gilbo said.
But the other operator - the one promising flights to Sydney - blames high demand for his planes there for a delay in the Canberra service.
Meanwhile, South Coast Seaplanes is up and just about ready. Initially, there would be trips from the lake over Canberra and beyond, but the plan is to expand to run day trips to the south coast.
"We would start off doing scenics around Canberra but very quickly we would look at doing day trips to the coast," Mr Gilbo said.
One option would be taking off from Canberra, and landing near a boat off the coast a half hour or so later. The boat would then take trippers for tastings at an oyster farm, before returning to Canberra.
Another possibility for the operator is to start at Lake Burley Griffin for a 40-minute trip to lunch at Narooma, and then back to Canberra by the evening.
If the demand is there, the day-trip could be expanded to include a few nights at local hotels.
"We will be looking to pull together a world-class experience. It will be very exciting," Mr Gilbo said.
He is not revealing prices but a shorter trip currently on offer from the company from Moruya to an oyster farm costs $1540.
While the South Coast Seaplanes venture is about to start, there is uncertainty about the timing of the other seaplane service from Lake Burley Griffin.
Last September, Aaron Shaw, the founder and managing director of Sydney Seaplanes, said: "We need to get our commercial arrangements in place but we expect to be able to do that with the intention of starting commercial services here in spring this year (meaning 2023)."
The company already has an NCA licence to fly two flights a day from Lake Burley Griffin between 9.30am and 4.30pm.
But the NCA added the proviso that "the licence granted to Sydney Seaplanes to operate on Lake Burley Griffin has strict requirements regarding regulatory approvals and safety".
It is not known if this extra condition has caused the delay. At the time of writing, Sydney Seaplanes had not responded to a request for information.
Last week, one of its aircraft crashed in Sydney Harbour. One of the eight people on board needed treatment for minor injuries.
The chief executive of the NCA Sally Barnes thought at the time that early concerns about the flights disrupting use of the lake for other users (like kayakers) had been diminished by people talking to each other.
"Everyone's a bit more settled that this is not about displacing people. There can be coexistence," she said.
Ornithologists were also worried. "The take-off and landing sites will go past Spinnaker Island and birds could be spooked," Chris Davey said.
He said the NCA promised an environmental assessment last April but he said he hadn't heard anything from them.
"All that we've got from the NCA is that they are aware of the issue and they'll look into it. And that's about it," he said.
The NCA didn't respond to a request for comment.