Twente Airport in the Netherlands and the German-based regional tech airline model, Flyv (Flyvbird), have agreed to explore how the Dutch air transport hub can use flyv’s on-demand air taxi services to offer better connectivity with other European airports.
As the world’s first low-cost regional on-demand airline, flyv is seeking to enhance connectivity between smaller airports in the more rural areas of Europe. It’s aim is inline with the growth anticipated for the demand and use of small clean and quiet electric aircraft that can cover distances between 100 to 900 km. It’s app-based model will enable passengers to order a flight with flyv then planning its network according to customer requests.
Twente Airport is well positioned to help enable new sustainable on demand transport services as it already operates on-demand charter operations. The lessons learned from its ground operations, such as how best to process passenger flows, filling/ loading of aircraft and setting up aircraft maintenance will be scalalbe to other regional airfields.
“We are delighted to add Twente Airport as a forward-thinking, progressive new regional airport partner,” said Tomislav Lang, Founder at flyvbird. “Flyv can help local businesses in the Twente and Overijssel region explore opportunities for conventional flight connections to Germany, France, Scandinavia and the UK. ”
Flyv plans to have its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and aims to establish a core network of destinations it can serve within Europe by the end of 2024, with the first flights being served in 2025, initially with the STOL-performance Tecnam P2012 Traveller which will operate out of Twente Airport.
With a catchment population of around three million, the airport sees a bright future for serving next-gen commuterliner, electric and eVTOL aircraft. “It is also smart to start setting up this on-demand service with existing smaller fossil-powered aircraft to start with, while electric aircraft are being developed,” said Gerben Groothuis, eFlight Business Development Manager at Twente. “We’ll be able to practice at Twente Airport with existing aircraft to try out the service, so that in a few years the switch to next-gen clean aircraft can be made smoothly.”
Ultimately, flyv plans to move to the all-electric Eviation Alice aircraft. It will initally start with four Tecnam P2012 Travellers, growing this to a fleet of 50-plus low-cost and reduced-emissions aircraft in the next decade. In October it signed a Letter of Intent with Eviation in the US to take 25 all-electric Alice aircraft in a deal that complemented its pre order in 2022 of 50+ Electra.aero hybrid aircraft commuterliners.
