Loganair looks to introduce hybrid-electric planes to decarbonise air travel

Hybrid-electric planes could soon be flying passengers to and from Shetland after Loganair announced an “exclusive” new partnership.

The region’s airline has today (Wednesday) confirmed its deal with Heart Aerospace with the aim to decarbonise air travel.

Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-30, a hybrid-electric aircraft with capacity for up to 30 passengers.

Loganair said the aircraft had the potential to “significantly reduce carbon emissions while offering cost-effective and accessible air travel”.

Chief executive Luke Farajallah said: “This is a very exciting and significant moment for Loganair and for the future of sustainable UK regional flying.

“This exclusive collaboration with Heart Aerospace brings together two organisations who share a passion to see aviation emissions reduce in a realistic and meaningful way, and we definitely see the ES-30 as being a strong contender to emerge as one of the leaders in this space.

“At Loganair we are very proud of our environmental work and achievements to date, and we see this as the next logical step along the path to a greener future for UK regional aviation.”

As part of the partnership, Loganair and Heart will work together to explore use cases for the ES-30 as well as engaging with the Scottish and UK governments and airports, to promote and highlight the benefits of this form of propulsion.

The ES-30 will have a fully electric zero emissions range of 200km and an extended hybrid range of 400km with 30 passengers on board.

With 25 passengers on board the aircraft has the potential to achieve a range of 800km.

Loganair will also join Heart Aerospace’s industry advisory board, which includes a range of airlines, governments, leasing companies, and airports from around the world, committed to supporting the electrification of air travel.

Heart Aerospace president Simon Newitt said: “Loganair has been a champion of regional aviation for decades, and we’re thrilled to partner with them to bring cleaner air travel to the UK.

“This collaboration is an important step in our mission to make air travel more sustainable and we look forward to bringing clean and convenient solutions to Loganair in support of its ambitious goal to achieve net zero emissions across its operations by 2040.”