All Electric Airplane to Fly in 2022, with Nine Passengers on Board

Aerospace companies have been working on solutions that would reduce aircraft costs, while tackling greenhouse gas emissions. Their goal: a future where medium-range flights could be entirely run by electricity.

This year’s Paris Airshow in France unveiled the prototype of the first commercial all-electric passenger aircraft, which will carry nine passengers for up to 1,040 kilometres while traveling at 440 km/h. The aircraft by Israeli firm Eviation is expected to begin operation in 2022 and can significantly slash carbon emissions.

According to Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of magniX – which, along with Siemens, provides the electric motors to Eviation – going electric also makes a lot of “business sense” as it slashes costs: a 160-kilometre electric flight is estimated to cost between just 8 and 12 dollars as opposed to the hefty $400 of small aircrafts using conventional fuel.

Many companies in the aircraft industry are planning to either go electric or consider hybrid alternatives. Low-cost airline EasyJet, for example, is planning to use electric planes in its regular short-haul flights by 2027. The airline’s chief executive Johan Lundgren highlights, “Electric flying is becoming a reality and we can now foresee a future that is not exclusively dependent on jet fuel.”