Seaplanes Indonesia: Fleet, Operator & Base Directory
As of 2026, Indonesia has no large-scale scheduled seaplane network. What exists is a small, growing set of Cessna Grand Caravan EX amphibian and DHC-6 Twin Otter operations: Santai Seaplane and Seaplane Asia Group building out Banyuwangi and North Bali, Bawah Reserve’s Twin Otter Series 300 flying from Batam, and Sama Sama Seaplanes preparing a West Sumatra base — plus planned water aerodromes at Lake Toba, Pulau Gili Iyang and Pulau Senua.
This page is the directory: every fleet type, operator, base and site we can verify against a named public source, in one place, cross-referenced so you can compare modes and read the individual operator and location pages behind each entry. It does not cover how to book a flight (see our national how-it-works hub) or route-by-route Bali charters (covered by our sibling sites) — it exists to answer “what actually flies where, and who operates it.”
Fleet and Status Directory
No operator currently publishes route-level fares or flight times, so none are listed here. Figures below are drawn from operator announcements, ministry publications and aviation trade press, dated where a date is available.
| Aircraft Type | Floats | Operator | Base | Status (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna Caravan 208B EX Grand Caravan Amphibian | Amphibious | Santai Seaplane (PT Santai Seaplane Aviation) / Seaplane Asia Group | Letkol Wisnu Airport, Buleleng, North Bali; primary hub Banyuwangi, East Java | Demonstration flight and water landing completed; commercial operations targeted for 2026 |
| Cessna Grand Caravan EX (C208EX) amphibian | Amphibious | Sama Sama Seaplanes (virtual carrier under Premiair’s AOC) | West Sumatra; water-base registration in progress at DJPU | Planned; original 1Q 2023 launch has slipped |
| DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 | Amphibious | Bawah Reserve | Anambas Islands, Riau Islands province, reached via Batam | Operating, as a resort transfer service |
| DHC-6 Twin Otter | Floatplane | Aman Air | Benoa Harbour to Pang Pang Bay, Bali–Banyuwangi | Targeted for early to mid 2026, per regional reporting |
| N219 amphibious variant | Amphibious (in development) | PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), with BRIN | Manufactured in Bandung; not yet operationally based | Preliminary design since late 2020; certification cited around 2027, unconfirmed |
Smart Aviation has also reported four Grand Caravan EX units ordered for Indonesia with deliveries beginning in 2026, without naming which operator each aircraft is assigned to.
Operators and Bases in This Directory
Ten entries make up the core of this directory. Each links through to a dedicated page with everything publicly verifiable about that operator, base or site.
- Santai Seaplane (PT Santai Seaplane Aviation) / Seaplane Asia Group — completed Indonesia’s first seaplane demonstration flight and water landing, a regulatory prerequisite for an official water-landing site.
- Letkol Wisnu Airport, North Bali — named as a commercial amphibious operations hub from 2026.
- Banyuwangi hub, East Java — Santai Seaplane’s primary operational base, with an operations and sales centre run under a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement with InJourney Airports and Akademi Penerbang Indonesia Banyuwangi. The intended network reaches North Bali, Lombok and Moyo Island, plus Surabaya charters.
- Sama Sama Seaplanes, West Sumatra — a virtual carrier planning Mentawai service first, then Lombok, Komodo and Raja Ampat.
- Bawah Reserve, Anambas Islands — two Twin Otter Series 300 aircraft, guests connecting via Batam; indonesia.travel has reported water aerodrome certification and a first water-based airport there.
- Aman Air, Bali–Banyuwangi — a Twin Otter service between Benoa Harbour and Pang Pang Bay.
- Lake Toba, Sumatra — named in Kemenhub’s Trans Utama magazine (issue 03-2022) as a planned bandar udara perairan.
- Pulau Gili Iyang, Madura — the same Kemenhub reporting names it for Twin Otter Series 400 service on Wipline 8000 amphibious floats.
- Pulau Senua, Riau Islands — the third site named in that Kemenhub planning document.
- N219 amphibian program (PTDI) — the only Indonesian-built amphibious aircraft in development, tracked separately because it is not yet in commercial service.
Seaplane vs Helicopter vs Fast Boat vs Commercial Flight
Seaplanes compete with three other modes for the same island-to-island trips, and each comparison depends on the specific route, aircraft availability and sea conditions on the day — not on a single number that applies nationwide. We keep the mode-by-mode breakdowns on dedicated pages rather than compress them here:
- Seaplane vs helicopter — payload, water-landing flexibility and where each mode actually operates in Indonesia today.
- Seaplane vs fast boat — what changes when a destination has no jetty or no paved runway.
- Seaplane vs commercial flight — where a scheduled airline route already exists and a seaplane adds nothing, versus where it fills a real gap.
Water-Landing Site Atlas
Kemenhub’s planning documents name specific water aerodrome candidates — Lake Toba, Pulau Gili Iyang and Pulau Senua chief among them — alongside references to Banyuwangi’s airport area, Menjangan in North Bali and unspecified approved sites in southern Bali. No single public registry lists every certified or planned water-landing site in Indonesia. Lombok, Komodo, Moyo and Raja Ampat appear repeatedly in operator route plans but are not yet certified regular bases. The full atlas, with what is certified versus merely proposed, sits on its own pillar page linked from this directory.
Pesawat Amfibi Indonesia: Konteks Bahasa Indonesia
Bagi pembaca yang mencari istilah “pesawat amfibi Indonesia”: armada yang relevan saat ini adalah Cessna Grand Caravan EX amfibi dan DHC-6 Twin Otter, dioperasikan dalam skala kecil oleh Santai Seaplane/Seaplane Asia Group (Buleleng dan Banyuwangi), Bawah Reserve (Kepulauan Anambas), dan direncanakan oleh Sama Sama Seaplanes (Sumatera Barat). Regulator yang mengurus pendaftaran bandar udara perairan adalah Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara (DJPU), sementara sertifikat tipe pesawat diterbitkan oleh Direktorat Kelaikudaraan dan Pengoperasian Pesawat Udara (DKPPU). Belum ada jaringan penerbangan amfibi terjadwal berskala nasional per 2026; operator masih pada tahap uji coba, demonstrasi, dan persiapan regulasi.
N219 Amphibian: Status Box
The N219, developed by PT Dirgantara Indonesia with LAPAN, first flew on 16 August 2017 and was named Nurtanio by President Joko Widodo on 10 November 2017. DKPPU issued its Type Certificate on 28 January 2020. An amphibious variant entered preliminary design by late 2020; The Jakarta Post reported PTDI expected an Amphibian Type Certificate by 2024, though that has not been confirmed as achieved, and 2026 PTDI news confirms amphibious-variant specifications exist without confirming certification. Several reports cite 2027 as the Indonesian certification target. BRIN is separately building an N219A ecosystem aimed at medical evacuation and remote logistics. The amphibious N219 is not in commercial service as of 2025–2026.
This is not new territory for Indonesia. Per Good News From Indonesia, seaplanes connected Java’s cities during the Dutch colonial era, Merpati Nusantara Airlines ran and later planned seaplane services, and a Dornier partnership was explored — the current wave of Grand Caravan EX and Twin Otter projects is a revival of a mode that has mostly served niche high-end tourism and mining access in the decades between.
Tell Us Your Route
This directory is run by Juara Holding Group, an independent coordination desk established in 2015 — not an aircraft operator. We do not own or crew any seaplane. When you tell us where you’re trying to go, we match your route against the operators and bases above and connect you with a licensed partner for arrangement; we do not guarantee availability, schedules or pricing, all of which sit with the operator and change with weather, demonstration-flight status and regulatory clearance.
WhatsApp 6281139414563 · bd@juaraholding.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a scheduled commercial seaplane airline in Indonesia right now?
No. As of 2026, no operator runs a scheduled, ticketed seaplane route in Indonesia. Santai Seaplane/Seaplane Asia Group has completed a demonstration flight and water landing and targets commercial operations in 2026; Aman Air and Sama Sama Seaplanes have announced timelines that have shifted. Charters are arranged on enquiry, not booked off a published timetable.
Which aircraft are actually being used for seaplane operations in Indonesia?
Two types dominate current activity: the Cessna Caravan 208B EX Grand Caravan Amphibian, used by Santai Seaplane/Seaplane Asia Group and planned by Sama Sama Seaplanes, and the DHC-6 Twin Otter, flying at Bawah Reserve on floats and proposed for Aman Air’s Bali–Banyuwangi route. Smart Aviation has reported four Grand Caravan EX units ordered with 2026 deliveries.
Where are Indonesia’s water-landing sites for seaplanes?
Kemenhub’s Trans Utama magazine (03-2022) names Lake Toba, Pulau Gili Iyang and Pulau Senua as planned water aerodromes. Bawah Reserve’s Anambas base is already operating. Banyuwangi, Menjangan in North Bali and unspecified southern Bali sites also appear in reporting. No single public registry lists every certified site, so this list should be treated as partial rather than complete.
Does Indonesia have its own amphibious aircraft, like the N219?
PTDI’s N219, certified in January 2020 in its standard configuration, has an amphibious variant in development since late 2020. Reports cite a possible 2024 amphibian certification that is unconfirmed, and several sources now point to 2027 as the target. As of 2025–2026 the amphibious N219 is not in commercial service.
How do I get a seaplane charter quote for a specific route in Indonesia?
Send us your route, dates and group size on WhatsApp (6281139414563) or email (bd@juaraholding.com). As an independent coordination desk, we check it against the operators and bases in this directory and pass your enquiry to a licensed partner for a direct quote — we do not set or guarantee pricing ourselves.