Twente airport in the Netherlands is to explore how it can be better connected to other European airports using flyv’s on-demand air taxi services. The parties will work together to determine standards and ground operations for the network Flyv wants to develop in this growing market segment.

Flyv is seeking to connect and make better use of smaller airports in the more rural areas of Europe. Major growth is expected over the next few years in the demand and use of small, clean and quiet electric aircraft that can cover distances of between 100 to 900 kilometres. This is an attractive market segment for on-demand-driven airline products that can move passengers quickly, sustainably, with short turnaround times and at competitive rates. Through the app, customers can order a flight and flyv will plan its network according to client requests. It is a matter of time before this becomes a reality, so Twente airport and flyv want to serve this market and are preparing for it.

As an established regional airport used to on-demand charter operations, Twente airport is well positioned to enable sustainable on-demand transport services, which place demands on ground operations such as processing passenger flows, filling/loading of aircraft and setting up aircraft maintenance. Lessons learned at Twente will be scalable to other airfields.

Tomislav Lang, flyv founder, says: “We are delighted to add Twente airport as a forward-thinking, progressive new regional airport partner. Flyv can help local businesses in the Twente and Overijssel region explore opportunities for conventional flight connections to Germany, France, Scandinavia and the UK. It has a catchment area of some three million people.”

“Twente airport management is enthusiastic about next gen commuterliner, electric and eVTOL programmes, but just as important as the OEMs designing and building them are the pioneering operators that are committing to fly them,” adds airport eflight business development manager Gerben Groothuis. “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. We’ll be able to practise at Twente airport with existing aircraft to try out the service, so that in a few years’ time the switch to next gen clean aircraft can be made smoothly.”

Flyv will establish its own AOC and aims to have established a core network within Europe by the end of 2024, with first flights out of Twente due to commence in 2025, initially with the STOL-performance Tecnam P2012 Traveller. Then it will move onto the hybrid electric Electra and, ultimately, the all-electric Eviation Alice aircraft. Within the next decade, flyv plans to establish a fleet of around 50 low-cost and reduced-emissions aircraft. In October it signed a lLoI with Eviation to take 25 Alice aircraft, complementing the 50+ pre-order for Electra.aero hybrid commuterliners made in 2022.