Islanders could be flying back and forth in aircraft with electric or hydrogen-powered engines in 10 to 15 years’ time.

Scotland’s airline Loganair is flying towards a far greener future for aircraft on services in the Highlands and Islands – but points out that while its suppliers may be in a position to provide electric or hybrid-electric aircraft by 2029, there needs to be a whole range of changes to facilities on the ground before they can be used.

Loganair is working with Heart Aerospace – which has just relocated its headquarters from Sweden to Los Angeles to support the larger customers for their electric/hybrid aircraft which are all in the USA.

Loganair CEO Luke Farajallah said the airline expects that aircraft powered by both hydrogen fuel and by electric batteries will pay a major role in the future.

Loganair reached a deal with Heart Aerospace last September. As part of the agreement, Loganair and Heart Aerospace will collaborate on establishing use-cases for hybrid electric aircraft within Loganair’s extensive Scottish and UK network.

At the centre of this collaboration is the ES-30, a hybrid-electric aircraft being developed by Heart Aerospace. With the capacity to carry up to 30 passengers, the ES-30 has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions while offering cost-effective and accessible air travel.

And on May 21, the Scottish Government announced that green aircraft engine developer ZeroAvia is to establish a major manufacturing base in Scotland, creating around 350 jobs.

The US company’s Hydrogen Centre of Excellence will be sited in the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Renfrewshire, not far from Loganair’s headquarters at Glasgow Airport and will produce advanced fuel cell systems for its hydrogen-electric aero engines. The facility is expected to begin operating by 2028. 

ZeroAvia’s engines can reduce operating costs for airlines and would cut aviation’s contribution to global warming by emitting only water. The company hopes an engine for up to 20-seat planes will enter service in 2026 and it is working on a powertrain for 40 to 80 seat aircraft.

Luke Farajallah said Loganair’s routes and size of air made it ideal for the size of sustainable aircraft being developed. The airline thinks that both hydrogen and electric and hybrid-electric have a place in Loganair’s future. “We think there is a lot of merit in smaller aircraft that we fly being at the vanguard of sustainable environmental flights.”

Luke said the bigger airlines with larger aircraft on longer routes will have to focus more on using Sustainable Aviation Fuel – that is not suitable for Loganair as it’s much more expensive than conventional fuel. “That would make everything more expensive for us if we were to adopt it wholesale because the UK market for SAF is much more constrained than the European market. We can't pick it up in Europe as EasyJet, Ryanair and others can and so we're exposed 100% to the pricing tariff in the UK.”

“So I think, in the end, hydrogen or electric or hybrid-electric will come through as offering the best possible alternatives for conventional propulsion.”

Loganair famously has the world's shortest commercial flight from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkneys lasting just 90 seconds using an Islander aircraft with a capacity for 10 passengers – this would be ideal for sustainable propulsion.

The Heart Aerospace aircraft which is being tested at present “currently has four tonnes of batteries on it which limits the capacity 30 passengers but actually 30 passengers on some of our routes is OK.” Loganair are also working with ZeroAvia, Cranfield Aviation and others.  The time scale for introduction of the aircraft is, realistically, 10 years to 15 years, Luke says.

Luke adds that everyone would like to see something before the end of the decade – but while that is OK from an airline perspective, to get an aircraft certified, you also “need an airport you can fly to and from, with the right equipment and the right infrastructure.”

Last year Simon Newitt, President & CCO of Heart Aerospace, 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.”

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

The hybrid-electric ES-30 is designed to fly up to 200 kilometres purely on battery power with a payload of 30 passengers, each carrying 25 kilograms of luggage, or up to 800 kilometres using hybrid power, and carrying 25 passengers. The company expects battery charging to take 30 minutes.

The current version of the ES-30 has attracted 250 firm orders, plus options and purchase rights for another 120 aircraft, and letters of intent for over 190 more. The largest customers, each with 100 firm orders and 50 options, are US giant United Airlines and regional operator Mesa Airlines, followed by Air Canada with 30 firm orders and aircraft lessor Rockton with 20 firm orders and 20 options.

In May, First Minister John Swinney visited Glasgow Airport to meet with ZeroAvia and partners supporting the project and Scotland’s green aviation agenda.

The First Minister said: “Scotland has the skills, the talent and the innovation to be at the forefront of efforts to tackle the climate emergency while developing significant new opportunities to grow the economy.

“ZeroAvia’s decision to establish a base in Scotland – creating 350 highly-skilled jobs in the process - is the perfect illustration of Scotland’s growing reputation in the global transition to net zero.”

Val Miftakhov, Founder and Chief Executive, ZeroAvia said: “Scotland has some unique advantages for ZeroAvia with strong aerospace and engineering skills, a burgeoning hydrogen sector and a clear aviation strategy with potential for early adoption of zero-emission flights.

"The aviation industry is on the cusp of the biggest transformation since the advent of the jet age, with entirely new propulsion systems set to power the next era of aviation – cleaner flights, better economics and better experiences for all.”