Airships can cut CO2 emissions by up to 10 times for smaller f | The world is good

Airships can cut CO2 emissions by up to 10 times for smaller flights

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) named a string of routes it hoped to serve from 2025. The routes for the 100-passenger Airlander 10 airship include Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca in four and a half hours. The company said the journey by airship would take roughly the same time as aeroplane travel once getting to and from the airport was taken into account, but would generate a much smaller carbon footprint. HAV said the CO2 footprint per passenger on its airship would be about 4.5kg, compared with about 53kg via jet plane, told the Guardian.

Today the world airship construction industry is represented by about 100 companies. Airships are used for military purposes, as advertising and sometimes in tourism. In the USA about 30-35 airships fly. But the industry has huge potential for growth.

HAV claims independent estimates put the value of the airship market at $50bn over the next 20 years. We can trust HAV because airships have many benefits.

Airships have a large payload capacity. They can easily lift up to hundreds of tons of cargo. In Germany, in 1996, an airship project was even developed that could lift a record 160 tons. If something fails in the airship at altitude, it will simply land on the ground. Airships do not require a runway. And it can stay in the air almost free (Since they are held by hydrostatic force).

We can assume that in the near future small flights will normally be carried out on airships and for long flights there will be planes.