Extraordinary courage in blustery weather

Seems to be a very 'posh' job; these are the people who see the glamour and beauty of this country every day as their 'office view'. However, it is a gruelling job, the task of transporting tourists to the resorts.

Their courage is especially evident in tumultuous weather, when the winds howl, and the seas get choppy. This is the story of seaplane cabin crews and pilots. Their courage and strength can be seen amidst the recent harsh weather conditions Maldives is experiencing. There are also many videos on social media of these valiant folk showing off their skills and bravery in really bad weather conditions. The videos garner a lot of praise for their work.

Rain is one of the biggest challenges to these seaplane pilots who work from dawn till dusk. The more tempestuous the weather gets, the more demanding their job becomes.

"It's a challenge taking-off and landing, especially at high tide when the swells are boisterous. In such situations it's a great challenge," a seaplane pilot told Atoll Times.

The weather was bad all over the country last week. Winds were up to 60 mph and the seas were very rough. Seaplane pilots and crew were among those that worked tirelessly through such extreme weather conditions.

The pilot, who spoke earlier, shared his experiences while carrying tourists when winds pick up suddenly and the weather quickly turns stormy.

"Last week was very bad. The sea and the winds. The tide was very high too, the sea very rough. When the winds picked up suddenly, the plane was loaded with luggage. We even had an elderly passenger to fly with us, and he wanted to delay his flight to the next day, because of the weather. He asked to offload his luggage," the pilot said.

He said the passenger's luggage could not be offloaded when the winds picked up. In the end all passengers had to be disembarked due to squally winds of about 45 knots.

"It started raining so hard that we couldn't see the resort nearby. The plane was moored with five ropes. Two ropes broke and two bollards fell off with the strong winds. We were stuck in the rain for about an hour”, the pilot shared his experiences of the blustery day.

There is no seaplane aerodrome or seaplane runway anywhere else in Maldives except for the one in Velana International Airport. The pilot pointed out that there was very little availability of safety equipment to be used in case of special circumstances while landing and departing seaplanes at resorts.

Resorts have floating and fixed platforms for seaplanes. However, docking near the platforms on a windy, rough day is not an easy task. It requires immense courage and skill.

"On a very windy day, the sea waves can swell up to 2-1 metres. Sometimes the biggest challenge is to hold the plane in the best position so that it is easy for the cabin crew to moor the plane right," the pilot said.

Most of the tourists who come to Maldives are not used to the rough seas. In unpredictable weather conditions as is being seen lately, it is difficult for the crew to provide the most accurate weather information, especially when carrying passengers who are not fluent in English.

"On such days, it is difficult to load and unload luggage and passengers. There are sometimes people who are new to such weather conditions. It is sometimes difficult to explain things to them with the language barrier," the pilot said.

Since resorts do not have special staff to clean the plane, pilots and cabin crew are responsible for cleaning the plane when passengers become seasick or airsick.

The pilot also noted that there are situations where they have to carry immensely heavy luggage while loading and unloading luggage on the seaplane.

"Sometimes there is 30 kilograms in one luggage. When we try to lift that much, our backs hurt, and our arms hurt. These are the everyday challenges of this job," the pilot said.

He also observed how adequate fuel should be calculated in cases where the aircraft has to be held in the air for a long time, unable to land on bad weather days.

"For example, flights to Male may have to be held in air because it is raining and cannot land. But when travelling to resorts, in an emergency situation we can land elsewhere," the pilot said.

Although thousands of tourists arrive in Maldives every day and seaplane crews ferry them to the resorts every day, each of these trips are unique experiences for the seaplane pilots and crew.

Not only do they get drenched in the rain, but there are cases when the sea splashes them wet with salt water on rough days. Despite the biting cold, tiredness and fatigue that comes with their line of work, these pilots continue their work because every day they learn something new, and every day makes a difference, they say. They maintain that the top priority is always to ensure the safety and security of passengers.