Seaplane and Amphibious Aircraft Industry Embarks on a Sustainable Future | Aviation International News

Seaplane Industry Sets Course for Sustainable Revival

There’s no shortage of a need for aircraft that can take off and land on water, supporters say

Tidal Flight Polaris seaplane — South Florida-based Tropic Ocean Airways has signed an LOI to buy 20 of Tidal Flight’s Polaris hybrid-electric seaplanes. The deal is worth more than $100 million.

By Chad Trautvetter • Online Editor

February 19, 2025

What’s old is new again when it comes to aircraft that can take off and land on the water. This message permeated throughout the Future Opportunities for Seaplanes & Amphibious Aviation conference—held February 11 in Miami—in various forms: retrofitting existing airframes with more sustainable electric/hybrid-electric powerplants; dusting off decades-old designs in hopes of restarting their production; and clean-sheet low- or zero-carbon-emissions aircraft.

Collectively, the hope of speakers and attendees at the second annual event is to rekindle the era of flying boats that launched commercial aviation more than a century ago, but in a more environmentally friendly way. As it happens, the first commercial passenger flight was conducted in the Benoist XIV flying boat on Jan. 11, 1914, spanning the 18 miles from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida.

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