Key points
• Loganair and BETA showcase the ALIA CTOL electric aircraft between Glasgow and Dundee, launching a series of real-world electric flight demonstrations across Scotland
• The demonstration series will be used to inform how Royal Mail could use electric aircraft as part of their essential daily mail flights to deliver to remote Scottish communities
• The demonstration flights cover routes across Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness, Wick and Orkney
Royal Mail, Loganair, the UK's largest regional airline, and BETA Technologies (NYSE: BETA) (“BETA”), a U.S.-based electric aerospace company leading in the development and commercialisation of electric aircraft, have launched the UK’s first real-world electric flight demonstrations across Royal Mail’s essential Scottish mail flight routes.
The first of a series of demonstration flights across Scotland’s regional airport network took place today between Glasgow and Dundee, with further flights planned between Inverness, Wick and Orkney. The flights will carry representative letters and parcels, replicating the daily mail flights Loganair operates so Royal Mail can deliver to Orkney and the wider Scottish Highlands and Islands.
BETA's ALIA CTOL is an all-electric conventional takeoff and landing aircraft designed for regional cargo and passenger operations. It requires no new airport infrastructure, operates from existing runways, and recharges in approximately 20-40 minutes using BETA's fast-charging system. (....)