A small blimp-making company have unveiled a series of routes for their environmentally friendly airship that will aim to provide a much lower carbon footprint to that of standard aeroplane travel.
According to an article on The Guardian, Hybrid Air Vehicles’ (HAV) new Airlander 10 airship will hope to serve short-haul routes that include Liverpool to Belfast and Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca by 2025.
Additional routes planned include Oslo to Stockholm and Seattle to Vancouver, which would each take approximately six and a half hours and four hours respectively.
“This isn’t a luxury product, it’s a practical solution to challenges posed by the climate crisis,” said Tom Gundy, chief executive of HAV.
For a flight between Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, HAV state that their 100-passenger blimp leaves a mere 4.5kg of carbon footprint per passenger. This is a drastically lower amount of CO2 footprint generated compared to a jet plane.
“We’ve got aircraft designed to travel very long distances going very short distances when there is actually a better solution,” Grundy added. “How much longer will we expect to have the luxury of traveling these short distances with such a big carbon footprint?”
Tests of the Airlander 10 have seen the blimp soar to heights of 7,000ft (2,100m) and reach speeds of up to 50 knots (92 km/h).
HAV are currently deciding on a location with regards to a production line for its airship. The company, which is currently based in Bedford, UK, will strive to build 12 of its airships every year from 2025.
