A White Rock aerospace and transportation company is looking into starting a float plane service from the city鈥檚 pier to the Gulf Islands.

MNK Aviation owner and pilot Mark Awan, who is a Semiahmoo Peninsula native, said the plan was put on standby after the destruction of the pier Dec. 20, however, he would like to speak to Mayor Darryl Walker about the idea.

He said his company would like to see the plan get off the ground in the next few years.

鈥淲e have two options that we鈥檙e playing with right now,鈥� Awan told Peace Arch News Tuesday. 鈥淥ne would be what they call aerial work, which is sightseeing flights, which would be very seasonal. The other would be chartered flights, so if someone wants to charter out to one of the Gulf Islands, they would book the aircraft, pay per seat, and (we would) fly them to where they wanted to go.鈥�

Awan, who moved his company from Vancouver International Airport to White Rock last year, said the city is a preferred destination for a float plane service because many of the other harbours in the Lower Mainland already operate a service.

Awan acknowledged that bringing charter float planes to White Rock involved 鈥渉uge hurdles,鈥� including ones that are political.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e dealing with a lot of politics just to get that done. Another thing, you need the right aircraft for the job. I do have one of the Beavers flying, but it鈥檚 an incredibly loud aircraft, and you鈥檙e dealing with noise bylaws,鈥� he said.

鈥淎nd with our timeframe right now, with all the work we have going, it鈥檚 been put on the back burner,鈥� Awan said.

MNK Aviation specializes in charter aviation and transportation for the film production industry in Vancouver. That work includes providing props, aircraft, and ground transportation.

The company also does work overseas, and is currently helping establish an airline on the Red Sea for a resort community.