February 2026 • Community Roundup

Seaplane Sunday

Hype up the good stuff. Three stories from the past week that prove seaplanes are having a moment.

⚡ THIS WEEK IN SEAPLANES

From Florida to the Maldives to Kansas — the community is building, launching, and advocating. Let's dive in.

🇧🇸 The Bahamas Just Got 25 Minutes Closer

Tropic Ocean Airways Launches Saturday Day Trips to Bimini
LAUNCHES FEBRUARY 21, 2026

This is the kind of news that makes you book a flight immediately. Tropic Ocean Airways, in partnership with The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, is launching same‑day seaplane trips from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini — and the flight takes just 25 minutes each way [citation:7].

Starting Feb 21, 2026 Fort Lauderdale → Bimini

The Itinerary: Beach Day, No Hotel

Here's the magic: You leave Fort Lauderdale at 8:30 AM, land in Bimini at 9:00 AM, clear customs in 15 minutes, and you're on the beach by 9:30. You have 5–6 hours on the island — snorkeling, bone fishing, hammerhead shark dives, or just lunch at Resorts World Bimini — and you're back in Florida by 5:30 PM [citation:10].

25 min
Flight time
5-6 hrs
Island time
Saturday
Operating day

What's included: Round‑trip seaplane flight, free valet parking, customs handling, ground transfers, guaranteed same‑day return. You just show up with a passport [citation:7].

Book / flytropic.com Bahamas Tourism

⚡ Hype take: This is exactly the kind of service that makes seaplanes feel like the future. No TSA lines, no overnight stay required, just a 25‑minute hop and you're in another country. Tropic Ocean Airways was founded by former Navy fighter pilots — they know what they're doing [citation:10].

🇲🇻 Maldives: 7,000 Passengers in One Day

Trans Maldivian Airways Sets New Operational Record

On February 15, 2026, Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) carried more than 7,000 passengers in a single day — the highest daily activity in the airline's history. That's over 800 aircraft movements across their network of DHC‑6 Twin Otters [citation:4].

7,000+
Passengers
800+
Movements
Twin Otter
Fleet

The scale is wild when you think about it: 800 takeoffs and landings of seaplanes, coordinating flight crews, ground teams, and marine support units, all during peak tourism season. TMA said maintaining reliability at this level required "close coordination between flight crews, ground teams and marine support units" [citation:4].

🇲🇻 Why this matters: The Maldives runs on seaplanes. Resorts are spread across remote atolls, and the seaplane transfer from Velana International Airport is often the first — and most scenic — part of the trip. This record shows just how critical seaplane infrastructure is to an entire nation's tourism economy [citation:4].

Also this week: Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen announced the launch of seaplane service to Thoddoo, a popular island known for watermelon farming and guesthouses. Special fares for Maldivians start at MVR 799 [citation:5].

🇺🇸 Kansas Pilots: "Let Us Land on Water"

House Bill 2687 Would Clarify Seaplane Access

On February 12, 2026, a bipartisan group of pilots and business owners showed up at the Kansas Statehouse to ask for something simple: clarity. Right now, Kansas doesn't explicitly ban seaplanes, but the statutes are confusing enough that nobody risks it [citation:1].

House Bill 2687

What it does: Clarifies that seaplanes can take off and land on any state waters where boats are permitted. No new infrastructure required — just remove the regulatory uncertainty [citation:1].

Who showed up: Jared Garetson, owner of Garetson Aviation in Manhattan, Kansas, brought his family and testified that the change would let him offer seaplane ratings to customers building their "dream planes" at his facility. About 95% of his business comes from outside Kansas — this would let those customers train locally [citation:1].

Why now: Surrounding states like Missouri and Oklahoma already allow seaplane operations. Kansas, with its "Air Capital of the World" legacy, should have modern statutes that reflect current aviation practices, said Rep. Angelina Roeser, who's working on her private pilot's license [citation:1].

Safety already covered

FAA regulates pilots; on water, seaplanes follow navigation rules that apply to boats. Pilots do low passes at 500 feet to clear the area before landing [citation:1].

Economic development

Flight schools benefit, new students can get seaplane ratings, and builders can test aircraft they just assembled. No runways required [citation:1].

⚡ Hype take: This is grassroots community advocacy at its best. A family-owned aviation business, a state representative who's learning to fly, and a flight instructor all showing up to make the case. The bill doesn't ask for money or infrastructure — just permission to use existing water. That's the kind of win we can all get behind.

🌍 Quick Hits from Around the World

More seaplane news worth hyping

🇮🇳 India's Amphibious 228

Hindustan Aeronautics expects certification of its indigenous amphibious Hindustan 228 within two years. Strong potential in island nations like Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles [citation:6].

🇬🇷 Greece: 30 New Water Aerodromes

Hellenic Seaplanes secured 30 additional water aerodrome licences. Next step: approval for scheduled passenger flights, not just charters. Itea (near Delphi) approved as new base [citation:9].

🇧🇸 American Airlines Bimini Route

Perfect timing: American just launched nonstop Miami–Bimini flights, complementing the new seaplane day trips. Bimini is suddenly very accessible [citation:2].

📢 Get Involved

Seaplane Sunday is whatever we make it

This page works best when it's not a lecture. If you see something cool happening in the seaplane world — a new route, a cool video, a regulatory win, a Red Bull stunt (seriously, where are the seaplane Red Bull videos?) — send it over.

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