Norway’s first electric flight takes off Monday, piloted by the head of its airport operating authority, and with the Transport Minister as his passenger. The flight is to highlight the country’s commitment to commercially-viable electric airliners.
Norway, one of the leaders in electrifying its truck and car fleets, has an official goal of having all its domestic flights use electric planes by 2040, although a lot of research and development will be needed between now and then. The plane to be used Monday holds two passengers, and can stay up for two hours.
Research and development on electric commercial airliners is well underway in several countries; in the U.S., Zuunum, based in Washington State, has backing from Boeing and JetBlue, and is working on a family of 10-to-50 seat aircraft. It expects to fly a 12-seater by 2022.
