South Coast Seaplanes set to fly Lake Burley Griffin to Narooma

Another proposal would have couples depart Lake Burley Griffin for a 40-minute trip to Narooma for lunch and be back in Canberra by the evening, its operator said.

South Coast Seaplanes is one of two service providers the National Capital Authority has backed to begin flying from Canberra in the first half of next year. A second operator would run twice-daily flights between Canberra and Sydney at an expected cost of $300 each-way.

The South Coast trips could accommodate three adult passengers or two adults and two children. Initially, they'd start by offering day trips before expanding to overnight experiences.

The Moruya-based company currently offers packages that include visits to Justin Hemmes' The Quarterdeck restaurant in Narooma and sightseeing flights over Tuross Falls.

Seaplane operator Tim Gilbo said operational specifics were still being ironed out, with changes to the National Capital Authority's take-off and landing proposition expected following a meeting with lake users this week.

"It'll also take time to gauge the demand and whether the international market will come back after COVID," he said.

Both South Coast Seaplanes and Sydney Seaplanes took part in a workshop with lake users on Wednesday, organised by the National Capital Authority by way of communicating their plans.

The Canberra Yacht Club and YMCA Canberra both came out against the initial proposal put forward by the National Capital Authority at the start of the week. Both groups raised concerns over where the planes would be landing and how that might impact their use of the lake, which includes sailing lessons with young children.

Two different take-off and landing strips have been put forward to accommodate easterly or westerly wind conditions. Both paths would see planes land in the West Basin before motoring-in to a pontoon at the National Museum of Australia where passengers would disembark.

A fuel tanker would be used to refuel the seaplanes during their visits to Canberra.

Mr Gilbo said the discussion with all users this week had been a "really big step forward".

Canberra Yacht Club general manager Steve Hart was confident the National Capital Authority would now reconsider ruling out having planes land and take-off in the Central Basin, as was preferred by lake users.

Mr Hart said the decision to limit comings and goings to West Basin had been due to heritage considerations around the Parliamentary Triangle and based on an earlier proposal of around 25 flights per day.

He said more flexibility in landing and take-off spots would be required for everyone to work together.

"It can't be an arbitrary landing spot, it has to be the safest possible spot when and where they can," he said.

"The operators were very reasonable and not wanting to disrupt lake use."

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YMCA chief executive Torrien Lau said it appeared some of their concerns were now being addressed, however, they wanted to see an emergency plan before backing the proposal.

Mr Lau said a plan currently didn't exist and water police had indicated it would take up to 40 minutes to respond if something went wrong.

He said it was important the YMCA had a very clear idea where and when planes were landing to ensure amateur sailors were well out of the way.

Mr Lau said the YMCA was still approaching the proposal with "an element of caution" despite this week's meeting with operators and the NCA being productive.

"We're going into this with goodwill," he said.

"But the devil is in the detail."

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