Aerial whale watching tours from December

Friday, 17 October 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Simplifly, the helicopter, floatplane and aircraft operator, is launching their second season of whale watching tours by aircraft from 1 December, this year, said the airline in a statement released to the media. Operating from Koggala airfield, guests will board Simplfly’s luxury eight-seat Airvan aircraft and fly to the marine shelf for a bird’s eye view of the world’s largest animal — the magnificent blue whale. The aerial tour will also allow guests to enjoy a view of the coastline before ending with a fly over above the World Heritage Galle Fort.

“We had a very successful product launch last winter combined with the opening of our fully staffed office located within the Galle Fort, and we wanted to bring the same experience to tourists who have chosen our beautiful island to spend their holidays this year, which also happens to be our tenth full year of operation in the country,” said Suren Mirchandani, Founder and Vice Chairman of the airline. “Simplifly has always been known as an innovator in the domestic airline industry, and we are very proud to be the only airline able to offer this unique product to the local and foreign guests. With Our Wings-Over-Whale tours, Sri Lanka is one among the handful of places in the world where people can fly out to see whales,” Mirchandani added.

There is a well established industry catering to whale watching via small and large sea going vessels, but the round trip journey can take up to five hours with no guarantee of whale sightings. However there is a serious concern among environmentalists for the stress this causes to the whales, due to the noise and fuel pollution from the many vessels crowding the areas where they frequent. Aerial whale excursions on the other hand reach the target area in less than ten minutes and can cover a much larger area as well. In addition, information released by the airline said: “One of the reasons why we launched aerial whale watching was to showcase that it is indeed possible for tourism to co-exist with nature. It is our contribution to responsible tourism. If we continue to crowd the whales with hundreds of boats in an unregulated manner, these animals may simply move away and find quieter places to rest, winter and nurture their young.” Long advocated by marine biologists, viewing whales by aircraft have the benefit of not disturbing whales in their natural habitat, which is a worrying trend in Sri Lanka, where dozens of vessels chase down whales and create a large stress burden for the world’s largest mammals, in addition to the marine pollution caused from lubricants and fuel.

While Sri Lanka is already well known for its elephants and leopards, it is only in the recent past that the country has become known as an ideal location for marine tourism. While other locations such as the north Atlantic coast off of USA and New Zealand and South Africa in the southern hemisphere have a well established reputation for marine tourism, the often cold weather and rough seas create challenging conditions for the average enthusiast. “There is no place on earth like the south coast of Sri Lanka for whale watching. With our warm waters, clear blue skies and great tropical weather, Sri Lanka will surely continue to see growth in this important segment. In addition to blue whales, we often sight other kinds of whales and we almost always see huge pods of dolphins in the water. We look forward to another great season for our Wings-Over-Whales excursions, which will run from 1 December through 31 March next year,” added Ishan Munaweera, Head of Business Development on the sidelines of the media release. Simplify will operate six flights per week and cater to both local and foreign tourists, with tickets available online or from the Simplifly office in Galle Fort.