Flyvbird (Flyv) plans to offer on-demand air taxi services at Twente Airport in the Netherlands. The German regional airline start-up and Dutch airport have agreed to develop plans to connect Twente to other small airports in Europe using Flyv’s fleet of low-cost and reduced-emissions aircraft, including future electric and hybrid models. In a memorandum of understanding, the partners also agreed to collaborate on standards and procedures for ground operations under Flyv’s on-demand air taxi network, which is expected to begin transporting passengers between European cities in 2025.
Flyv’s initial fleet will consist of four Tecnam P2012 Travellers—nine-passenger, twin-piston airplanes with a range of 960 nm (1,760 kilometers). Flyv also aims to operate Electra.aero’s hybrid-electric, short-takeoff-and-landing (eSTOL) aircraft as well as the Eviation Alice electric commuter airplane, both of which seat nine passengers as well. Last year, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Electra.aero for the purchase of up to 100 hybrid eSTOL aircraft, which have a projected range of 500 miles (800 kilometers)—about twice the range of the all-electric Alice, for which Flyv has placed a conditional pre-order of up to 50 units in October. Eviation plans to have the Alice certified and in service in 2027, while Electra is aiming for 2028.
“Twente Airport management is enthusiastic about next-gen commuterliner, electric, and eVTOL programs, but just as important as the OEMs designing and building them are the pioneering operators which are committing to fly them,” said Gerben Groothuis, Twente Airport’s eFlight business development manager. “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,” Groothuis added. “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.”
Twente Airport, located just outside the city of Enschede in the Overijssel province, is a small, uncontrolled airport that was previously a military airbase. Nowadays, it is primarily used for general aviation and some business charter operations, but it has no scheduled commercial airline services. With the arrival of new electric and hybrid aircraft expected to revive the regional air mobility industry, Twente Airport is looking to reinvent itself as a “living lab of sustainable aviation and new forms of mobility,” according to the airport’s website. In addition to its work with Flyv, the airport is conducting a joint study with Lyte Aviation to explore use cases for Lyte’s planned 40-seat SkyBus LA-44 VTOL aircraft at small regional airports.
“We are delighted to add Twente Airport as a forward-thinking, progressive new regional airport partner,” said Flyv founder Tomislav Lang. “Flyv can help local businesses in the Twente and Overijssel region explore opportunities for conventional flight connections to Germany, France, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. It has a catchment area of some three million people.”
Flyv is in the process of securing an air operator’s certificate, and it plans to begin offering subregional scheduled services from small airports in Europe in 2025, starting in Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It is working to establish a core network of airports by the end of 2024 to support early operations. To book on-demand flights, passengers will use an app-based scheduling platform using a proprietary algorithm to optimize the daily flight schedule based on paid bookings and operational constraints.