A small airline in Scotland has big plans for clean flying. Loganair will buy five aircraft that run only on electric power. The company wants to be the first in Europe to fly a whole fleet of electric planes.
How does an electric plane get its power, and when will passengers fly on one?
Loganair flies small planes between islands and cities in Scotland. Many of its flights are short. Now the airline has agreed to buy five new aircraft. The planes do not use jet fuel. They run on batteries and an electric motor instead.
The company that makes the aircraft is called BETA Technologies. Its plane is called the ALIA CX300. The plane can carry up to five people. It can also carry a small amount of cargo. One electric motor turns a propeller at the back of the plane.
The ALIA CX300 can fly about 336 nautical miles on one charge. That is around 620 kilometres. It flies at a speed of 153 knots, or about 283 kilometres an hour. The plane does not need a special airport. It can use the same short runways that small planes use today.
Charging the plane is fast. A ground team can recharge the battery in 20 to 40 minutes. This means the plane can fly, land, charge, and fly again in the same day.
Loganair signed the deal at the Farnborough International Airshow. This is a big event in England where aircraft companies show their newest planes. The airline also has the option to buy five more electric planes later.
This is not Loganair’s first test of electric flight. Earlier this year, a BETA aircraft flew 23 flights in 10 days across the airline’s routes. It flew over 1,000 nautical miles in total. The tests showed that electric flight can work in real conditions, not just in a laboratory.
The new electric planes will not arrive right away. Loganair expects them to start flying passengers in 2029. But when they do, Loganair will be the first airline in Europe with a whole fleet of electric aircraft.
Electric planes make no engine exhaust. They are also much quieter than normal aircraft. Airlines like Loganair hope this will help them fly to small airports near towns and villages, without disturbing local people.
Check your understanding
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How many electric aircraft has Loganair agreed to buy in this first order?
The article says Loganair has agreed to buy five of the aircraft, with the option to buy five more later.
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True or false: the new electric aircraft can use the same runways as small planes today.
The article states the aircraft can use the same short runways that small planes use today, so no new infrastructure is needed.
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Why might quieter electric planes help Loganair fly to more small airports?
The article explains that electric planes are much quieter than normal aircraft, so airlines hope this helps them fly to small airports near towns without disturbing local people.
Key vocabulary:
- fleet (noun) – all the aircraft that one airline owns and flies. Typical use: “a whole fleet of electric planes”.
- charge (verb) – to fill a battery with electric power. Typical use: “recharge the battery in 20 to 40 minutes”.
- cargo (noun) – goods carried by a plane, ship, or truck, not passengers. Typical use: “carry a small amount of cargo”.
- nautical mile (noun) – a unit of distance used in flying and at sea, a little longer than a normal mile. Typical use: “fly 336 nautical miles on one charge”.
CEFR Level A2 / ICAO Level 3
Curious about other ways aviation is going green? Read how Rolls-Royce and easyJet proved a jet engine can run on 100% hydrogen.
