Nuremberg Airport wants to become the center for electric whiz kid - "reality in three years"

Air traffic came under massive pressure in the Corona crisis.

New ways are required.

Electrically powered whiz for short distances are one of the possible ways out.

Nuremberg - Nuremberg Airport * would like to develop into a center for vertical take-off small aircraft with electric propulsion in just a few years.

The technology is no longer the problem, said airport managing director Michael Hupe of the German press agency.

"The main thing now is the legal framework."

The manufacturer Lilium, for example, has already tested five-seaters in the air, seven-seaters are in preparation, said the aviation expert.

The legal and safety requirements could best be guaranteed at airports, as they have experience with the approval process.

Nuremberg benefits from only having one runway for large jets - this makes coordination with the small aircraft easier than if several runways have to be coordinated.

He could imagine feeder flights that take passengers from regions 100 to 200 kilometers away to Nuremberg by air instead of by road.

There they could transfer to a plane for a longer distance - for a vacation or business trip, for example.

The plans could become a reality in three to four years.

In the medium term, Hupe also sees short-haul opportunities - for example when hydrogen technology takes hold in aviation.

Propeller aircraft powered by hydrogen via fuel cells are under development.

"Then flights to destinations like Munich, Stuttgart or Berlin would be opportune again," said Hupe.

On longer journeys, however, he does not consider combustion engines to be replaceable in the next 25 to 30 years.

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