Expects Aircraft To Be A 'Reality' By 2025

The chairman of Norwegian airport management company Avinor said at a recent conference that electric airplanes will operate on commercial routes by 2025.

Nordic Business Insider relays a report from the Norwegian news site Romerikes Blad which indicates that Dag Falk-Petersen made the remarks at a smart mobility conference in Lillestrom, Norway earlier this month. He also said that Norway could lead the transition to commercial electric operations.

Falk-Petersen said that both Airbus and Boeing are looking at Norway as a potential test site for electric aircraft. "The technology already exists and it is by no means utopian that the first [commercial] electric aircraft can fly in 2025," he said.

The Avinor executive said that one of the primary benefits of an electric airliner is the reduction in fuel costs, which could be as little as half that for fossil fuel. That in turn would lead to lower fares and reduced noise levels, he said.

But before electric airliners are in common use, Falk-Petersen said that biofuels will become more widely accepted and used by airlines. "The development of zero-emission aircrafts and bio jetfuel are two of the most promising aspects on the road towards a sustainable aviation,” he said.

Falk-Petersen pointed to the Airbus E-Fan 2.0 under development that would be the first electric airplane certified to international airworthiness standards. The aircraft is expected to fly for the first time late this year.

(Airbus E-Fan pictured in file photo)

FMI: Original Report