Wellington Airport is proud to have joined a new Industry Advisory Board for Heart Aerospace, helping the Swedish
company develop its first electric aircraft, the ES-30.
“We’re proud to be fellow pioneers in decarbonising aviation and to help guide the ES-30 into active service,” says
Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke.
“As Sounds Air’s hub airport we’ve been working closely with their team and Heart Aerospace for several years now and it
is fantastic to see the project going to the next level.
“Electric air travel is part of the future and it’s coming much sooner than many people realise. With Air New Zealand
also joining the partnership we’re expecting to see e-flights operating our high frequency sectors across New Zealand’s
Cook Strait this decade.
“It’s vital we help the aviation sector transition to lower emissions while also maintaining and growing the connections
between people and businesses, which is crucial for a small island nation like New Zealand.
“Short haul electric flights are the first step in solving this challenge. Wellington Airport’s central location means
we are perfectly placed as a hub for these flights, with two thirds of our scheduled domestic flights on routes within
the range of the ES-30 aircraft.”
“We aim to electrify regional air travel, but we cannot do this alone,” says Anders Forslund, founder and CEO of Heart
Aerospace.
“Decarbonizing air travel requires a collective effort. With our partnerships we can impact the entire aviation
ecosystem from creating more efficient airplanes to more accessible airlines and airports.”
“Sounds Air’s focus is to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 by becoming New Zealand’s regional electric airline of
choice, but we can’t achieve this alone,” says Sounds Air Chairman Rhyan Wardman.
“We have been working closely with Heart Aerospace and Wellington Airport for some time. Heart Aerospace’s Advisory
Board accelerates this work to establish the necessary infrastructure needed to support an electric fleet and get this
up and running for Kiwis.”
Other members of the Industry Advisory Board include Air New Zealand and Christchurch Airport.
As part of this transition work Wellington Airport is also leading a technical group with other New Zealand airports and
airlines investigating the charging requirements to support electric flights.