North Sulawesi’s seaplane routes for 2027 rest on Sam Ratulangi Airport (Manado) sitting inside a 100 nautical-mile hub radius identified in a 2025 feasibility study, and on Likupang’s status as a national priority destination — but no water aerodrome certificate, operator base, or scheduled route is documented for North Sulawesi as of September 2026. Plan around positioned charters, not fixed timetables.
That gap between potential and paperwork matters if you’re trying to plan a trip around Bunaken, Bangka, Lembeh, or Likupang two years out. Here is what the record actually shows, what regulatory steps still stand between North Sulawesi and a scheduled seaplane timetable, and what to lock in early regardless.
What Is Documented vs Conceptual for North Sulawesi Seaplane Travel?
Indonesia’s only confirmed seaplane infrastructure sits elsewhere. Sources describe a first Water Aerodrome Certificate at Pulau Bawah in the Anambas Islands (Riau Islands Province), plus private or domestic-use water landings at the Kahayan River in Central Kalimantan, Amanwana and Benete in West Sumbawa (NTB), and API Pangpang Bay in Banyuwangi, East Java, used for training. None of those sites are in North Sulawesi.
A separate 2025 systematic study on whether Indonesia needs water aerodromes named eight airports as hub nodes, each anchoring a 100 nautical-mile (roughly 182 km) planning radius for potential seaplane feeder routes. Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado is one of the eight, alongside Ngurah Rai (Bali), Komodo (Labuan Bajo), Sultan Hasanuddin (Makassar), Syukuran Aminuddin Amir (Luwuk), Sultan Babullah (Ternate), Pattimura (Ambon), and Dominique Eduard Osok (Sorong). That is a planning-radius designation from academic research, not a government list of confirmed landing sites, and no source describes an operational water aerodrome, an operator base, or a published route touching North Sulawesi.
Here is how the region’s best-known water-adjacent spots line up against that documentation gap:
| Location | Seaplane infrastructure documented? | Status as of Sept 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bunaken (Bunaken National Park) | No certified water aerodrome | Conceptual only; reachable today by boat from Manado |
| Bangka Island | No certified water aerodrome | Conceptual only; no operator or site filing found |
| Lembeh Strait | No certified water aerodrome | Conceptual only; dive-tourism access remains boat-based |
| Likupang | No certified water aerodrome | National priority-destination status, but no seaplane site certification on record |
Likupang carries government attention as one of Indonesia’s designated priority tourism destinations, which is a separate program from aviation site certification. Priority-destination status can attract infrastructure investment, but it does not, by itself, create a water aerodrome or a seaplane route — those require the aviation approval process described below.
Fleet-wise, the aircraft that could eventually fly a North Sulawesi route already exist elsewhere in the country. A 2025 aviation journal lists Airfast Indonesia (operating DHC-6-300 Twin Otter amphibious aircraft) and Travira Air (operating Cessna Grand Caravan 208A amphibious aircraft) as operators a senior Ministry official confirmed were flying commercially as of August 2025 — Travira in NTB, Airfast in Kepulauan Riau. Neither is documented as based in or operating toward North Sulawesi. For a fuller look at who actually flies seaplanes in Indonesia today, see seaplane tours from Manado, which tracks operator activity specific to this region as it develops.
What Would Need to Happen Before Scheduled Flights Reach North Sulawesi?
Two regulatory steps sit between “conceptual” and “bookable” for any North Sulawesi site.
First, site certification. Under the Ministry of Transportation’s water aerodrome regulation, a water aerodrome may only operate after its organiser receives a certificate or registry from the Minister (Article 29(1)). Directorate General of Civil Aviation Decree KP 206/2021, the Manual of Standard CASR Part 139 Volume III for Water Aerodromes, sets the minimum physical, obstacle-limitation, visual-aid, and procedure specifications a site must meet for seaplanes up to 30 seats. No public filing shows this process underway for Bunaken, Bangka, Lembeh, or Likupang.
Second, an operator base. Certification alone doesn’t produce flights — an AOC-135 operator needs to position aircraft, crew, and maintenance support to the region, or fly in on a charter basis without a permanent base. Permenhub No. 08/2025 adds that while operating on water, seaplane personnel must follow both maritime/shipping law and aviation rules simultaneously, a dual-regime requirement that shapes how any new site gets staffed and supervised.
A few other regulatory pieces frame the operating environment through 2027:
- PM 2/2026 (CASR Part 19, Safety Management Systems), in force from early February 2026, requires operators to run hazard identification, risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion programs.
- PM 6/2026 (CASR Part 47, aircraft registration), signed 6 July 2026, supersedes the prior 2018 registration rule and governs any aircraft newly registered for a North Sulawesi route.
- CASR 121.339 requires seaplanes on overwater operations to carry sea anchors and survival equipment, with a life jacket reachable from every seat on extended overwater flights.
Until a site clears KP 206/2021 certification and an operator commits a base or a standing charter presence, North Sulawesi seaplane travel stays a positioning exercise rather than a scheduled service.
What Should Travelers Book Early for a 2027 North Sulawesi Trip?
Given the documentation gap, the practical move for 2027 planning is to treat seaplane access as a request, not a reservation.
- Confirm feasibility before dates. Ask any broker or operator whether a North Sulawesi leg is even flyable for your window — it depends on aircraft positioning from the nearest base, not a published schedule.
- Expect whole-aircraft charter pricing logic. No published tariff exists for Indonesian seaplane routes generally. Charter cost is driven by aircraft type, positioning distance from base, passenger and luggage weight, waiting time, and ground handling — not a fixed per-seat fare.
- Build in weather flexibility. No source publishes monsoon or seasonal dates specific to seaplane operations in this region. Each landing depends on the operator’s weather minima and sea state on the day, so buffer days matter more than calendar-based season guessing.
- Keep a boat-transfer backup. Bunaken, Bangka, and Lembeh are all reachable by boat today; a seaplane leg should be treated as an upgrade attempt layered on top of a confirmed boat itinerary, not a replacement for one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will there be a scheduled seaplane route to Bunaken by 2027?
No source documents a certified water aerodrome, operator base, or filed route for Bunaken. Sam Ratulangi’s hub status in the 2025 study only marks a 100 NM planning radius, not an approved site. Treat 2027 access as charter-only and confirm feasibility close to your travel dates rather than expecting a published timetable.
Can I charter a seaplane to Likupang in 2027 even without a water aerodrome certificate?
A charter requires both a certified landing site under KP 206/2021 and an AOC-135 operator willing to position aircraft there; neither is documented for Likupang as of September 2026. Priority-destination status affects tourism investment, not aviation certification. Ask a coordination desk to check current operator willingness before assuming a charter is possible.
Is Sam Ratulangi Airport already used for seaplane operations?
Not as a seaplane site. Sam Ratulangi appears only as one of eight hub airports in a 2025 study’s 100 nautical-mile planning-radius framework for potential water aerodrome feeder routes. It functions as a conventional airport; no water aerodrome certificate, seaplane base, or seaplane route is documented there as of September 2026.