Hydroplane trial flight postponed. Agreement with Japanese company ‘up in the air’?

The scheduled trial flight of the hydroplane at the Corfu Port Authority waterway on Sunday has been postponed. The Greek management company and Setouchi Holdings made a joint announcement to this effect on Saturday evening, citing an unforeseen maintenance issue due to the current high safety specifications. The postponement will be at least until there has been an inspection by the flight control and mechanics of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

This sudden and unexpected turn of affairs raises justifiable questions, which will hopefully be answered in coming announcements from the Japanese company and Hellenic Waterways. According to initial information received, some technical issues took the Greek partners of the giant Japanese company by surprise. The problems arose during the trial flight on Saturday morning and were so serious (?) - according to Greek sources - that even the agreement with the Japanese companies could now be at risk!

According to the same sources, the hydroplane flew to Corfu from its base in New Zealand, flying round half the globe in just over seven days, stopping at airports and not waterways. We await further clarification after this sudden and dramatic announcement.