Electric plane could take to Scottish skies 'very soon'

Electric planes could be serving communities in the north and north east of Scotland within "a couple of years", according to the firm looking to bring the technology into service.

Bristow Helicopters is working with BETA Technologies on the project and said areas like Aberdeen and the Highlands and Islands were good locations for testing.

The aircraft, called ALIA, is currently touring Scotland and has taken in destinations like Aberdeen, Dundee, Kirkwall and Glasgow so far.

Work is also ongoing with Royal Mail and Loganair to test its capabilities.

When the aircraft was in Aberdeen this week, Bristow's Simon Meakins said while the US-Israel war with Iran was increasing fuel costs that was not a driving factor in why they were working on the technology.

"We have been in this project for five years," he said.

"To be able to use electricity rather than burning fossil fuels has carbon advantages but also there is a significant cost variation.

"It is more efficient to charge an electric aircraft than it is to burn fossil fuels so there are some really good economic reasons for doing it as well."

The aircraft has a "useable range" of about 100 miles (160km).

Bristow hopes the plane can be brought into service "within the next couple of years" and that the aircraft could be flying in the region "very soon".

Meakins told BBC Scotland News the technology was being brought in using a "pragmatic and staged manner" but it is hoped it could eventually be used for passenger flights.

Bristow provides offshore helicopter services from Aberdeen and also hopes the technology could benefit the oil and gas industry in the future.

Meakins said: "This particular aircraft is what I call a conventional take-off and landing, so it needs a runway, but BETA are building a vertical take-off and landing version of it."

He said they could look at using that alongside their helicopters in due course.

In recent days, the plane has been on show around Scotland at industry events with pilot Brian Jenkins describing it as "awesome to fly".

"We are out here to show people that electric aviation is real and it actually does work," he said.

"It is a new technology and sometimes people are a little wary of new technology, but we have data to back it up, we have flights to back it up.

"It is so much more reliable and safer than actually the planes that they are flying around in today."