Long wait seen for electric planes despite historic first flight

(Eco Business, 13 Dec 2019) An all-electric commercial plane took off close to Vancouver, Canada on 10 December and flew for less than 15 minutes, unleashing hopes that fuel-guzzling jets could be replaced by a green alternative.

The pioneers behind the world’s first fully electric, commercial flight say they have made history, but climate-change activists see electric air travel as a dream yet to come true.

The Harbour Air seaplane - which seats six - took off close to Vancouver in Canada on Tuesday and flew for less than 15 minutes. Its pilot, Greg McDougall, declared the mission a success, saying in a statement: “We made history.”

It was the first time an all-electric commercial plane had taken to the skies, unleashing hopes that fuel-guzzling jets - a key cause of global warming - could be replaced by a green alternative.

Climate-change activists welcomed the maiden flight but played down hopes that electric planes carrying mass tourists, commuters or business travellers would take off any time soon.

“We’re still a long way from having a commercial service,” said Lucy Gilliam, aviation and shipping campaigner at Transport & Environment, a European umbrella group of NGOs campaigning for cleaner transportation.

“This is a milestone, but we need to be realistic that electrification will play a role in short-haul flights, but not in the long-haul,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Brussels.

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Eco Business, 13 Dec 2019: Long wait seen for electric planes despite historic first flight