Wellington Airport to help with electric aircraft

Wellington Airport has joined a new Industry Advisory Board for Heart Aerospace, helping the Swedish company develop its first electric aircraft, the ES-30.

“We’re proud to be fellow pioneers in decarbonising aviation and to help guide the ES-30 into active service,” says Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke.

“As Sounds Air’s hub airport we’ve been working closely with their team and Heart Aerospace for several years now and it is fantastic to see the project going to the next level.

“Electric air travel is part of the future and it’s coming much sooner than many people realise. With Air New Zealand also joining the partnership we’re expecting to see e-flights operating our high frequency sectors across New Zealand’s Cook Strait this decade.”

Clarke says it’s vital to help the aviation sector transition to lower emissions while also maintaining and growing connections between people and businesses.

“Short-haul electric flights are the first step in solving this challenge,” he explains.

“Wellington Airport’s central location means we are perfectly placed as a hub for these flights, with two thirds of our scheduled domestic flights on routes within the range of the ES-30 aircraft.”

Heart Aerospace founder and chief executive Anders Forslund says decarbonising air travel requires a collective effort.

Sounds Air chairman Rhyan Wardman agrees, saying its focus is to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 by becoming New Zealand’s regional electric airline of choice.

“We have been working closely with Heart Aerospace and Wellington Airport for some time,” Wardman says.

“Heart Aerospace’s Advisory Board accelerates this work to establish the necessary infrastructure needed to support an electric fleet and get this up and running for Kiwis.”

Other members of the Industry Advisory Board include Air New Zealand and Christchurch Airport.

As part of this transition work Wellington Airport is also leading a technical group with other New Zealand airports and airlines investigating the charging requirements to support electric flights.

Late last year Gary Freedman of ElectricAir flew his Pipistrel aircraft into Wellington, becoming the first electric aircraft to cross Cook Strait.