The Dutch aviation startup ELECTRON Aviation has signed an agreement with Twente Airport as its next step. plans From 2027, launch a zero-emission short-haul flight service.
The startup’s planned fleet of electric air taxis will transport up to four passengers at a time to various European cities within a 500 km radius of the airport.
“To be clear, it will take you to Berlin, London or Paris, all in less than 2 hours,” said ELECTRON CEO and co-founder Joseph Morris.
The startup’s Electron5 aircraft, which is still in the prototype stage, will fly at a speed of about 300 km/h with a maximum range of 750 km on a single charge. With a focus on smaller aircraft, the company hopes to build its fleet at a rapid pace.
“In order to fly significant distances this decade, we had to compromise on aircraft size, limiting ourselves to five seats. Which, when you think about it, is the perfect size for our business model,” Morris said.
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The startup plans to provide a fast, easy service similar to the Uber of airplanes, offering a faster and greener way to travel between major European hubs. The plane needs 800m of runway to take off, meaning it can take off from conventional airports, the startup said.
It used to be Joseph quoted saying that a 400km journey in one of its air taxis will set you back €:225. However, in a press release yesterday, the CEO said the aircraft’s “low operating costs” (compared to other low-emissions alternatives such as hydrogen) would eventually allow the startup to “match or beat” economy pricing. – class plane ticket.
The startup is part of the Electric Flying Connection (EFC), a Dutch consortium of companies that recently submitted a funding application to the Dutch Growth Fund to scale battery-electric flight in the country.
Jan Schuring, CEO of Twente Airport, who joined the consortium this year, said demand for improved connectivity in the region was strong both within the Netherlands and for cross-border travel to Germany, France and the UK.
Introducing ELECTRON aviation as a second operator, Twente Airport appearance positioning itself as the airport of choice for electric air taxi startups looking to launch their services in the country.
ELECTRON also signed a similar agreement with Groningen Airport in 2021 and plans to deploy a fleet of battery-electric, zero-emission aircraft at both airports in 2027.