Canberra Yacht Club's Steve Hart says Lake Burley Griffin seaplanes proposal impacts lake users

Canberra Yacht Club general manager Steve Hart says he's yet to speak to a lake user who supports the plan, which was completely incompatible with his business.

The National Capital Authority is backing allowing seaplanes to use Lake Burley Griffin, in one of the last steps to getting daily services to and from Canberra.

The National Capital Authority will support one company's bid to operate flights from Canberra to Sydney and a second operator to fly between Canberra and the South Coast.

The authority has allowed Sydney Seaplanes and South Coast Seaplanes to operate the services for up to seven days a week.

Mr Hart said the club had repeatedly asked to see a business case demonstrating the money the Sydney and South Coast operators would be bringing to the ACT.

"We just can't see the case for how you can put out up to five local community groups and thousands of volunteers, members, sailors, rowers and kayakers for the sake of a Sydney business for a few dollars," he said.

"The landing and takeoff zones for this plan are straight through the middle of the only place on the lake you can sail," Mr Hart said.

"We have put forward viable alternatives for other locations and if we were able to get it moved we'd be very, very supportive of the proposal.

"But if it puts us out of business, when we've been here for 60 years, and putting back into the Canberra community then that's pretty concerning for us."

The club runs school holiday programs five days a week every break except June and July, a day program for disadvantaged youth during school term weekdays, after school programs and adult sailing lessons and competitions.

National Capital Authority chief executive Sally Barnes all lake user groups were invited to meet authority representatives on Wednesday, ahead of the next stage of assessment: environmental and heritage impact assessments..

"We're hoping they'll roll their sleeves up with us and actually make it as good as it can be," she said.

The Commonwealth government will have final say following submission of the proposal's environmental impact, with a heritage value of the recently listed lake also required.

Ms Barnes said the authority was not anticipating any push back, having undertaken heritage and environment assessments prior to an original proposed 2021 start date.

Authority chief planner Andrew Smith said concerns over disruption to flight paths of seagulls and other birds had previously been shown to be unfounded.

Under the proposal, a seaplane carrying up to 14 passengers would leave Sydney at 9am and 2.30pm and depart Canberra at 10.30am and 4pm for the one hour journey.

South Coast trips would take four passengers on a joy ride, with times and flight paths still to be decided.

Flights leaving before 10am and landing after 3.30pm would land at the airports, rather than on the water.

Passengers will disembark at a jetty on the eastern side of the National Museum of Australia. A pontoon will be built where the Paddle Steamer Enterprise is currently docked.

Ms Barnes said the planes will land further out in the lake and coast into the shoreline. She said it was expected the museum would offer special ticket prices to encourage people to visit.

The price of a flight between Canberra and Sydney is expected to be $300 each way.

"They'll get off and they'll wander up to the museum, hopefully have a coffee, lunch, whatever in town and go back there in the afternoon - or they'll stay longer," she said.

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Ms Barnes said the authority was not expecting any push back from the ACT government preventing flights from commencing next year.

She said the authority saw seaplanes as an additional way for all Australians to access Canberra.

"We see Canberra as a place for all Australians. We think all Australians should come to Canberra and experience their national capital," she said.

"The other thing we know is that every time we put anything on the lake people love it."

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