Frankfurt to Dubai in 90 minutes? Europe enters the hypersonic plane race
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/destinus-hypersonic-plane/index.html
Author: Maureen O'Hare, CNN
It’s now been two decades since the era of supersonic commercial flight ended with Concorde’s final touchdown in an airfield in southwest England.
In recent years, numerous pretenders to the throne – supersonic, hypersonic, hydrogen-powered, with anti-boom technology – have been whizzing round, conceptually at least, but many of these projects promising seamless super-fast travel have instead stalled, sputtered out or hit delays. Now a European hypersonic startup is having a go, promising enticing journey times such as Frankfurt to Sydney in 4 hours 15, or Memphis to Dubai in 3 hours 30.
The Destinus concept is hydrogen-powered flight at five times the speed of sound, cutting flight duration to less than a quar of current commercial air travel. Headquared in Switzerland with a team of around 120 staff spread out in Spain, France and Germany, Destinus was established in 2021 but has been hitting milestones fast. Its first two prototypes have made successful test flights and are about to start testing hydrogen-powered flight. Its third prototype – Destinus 3 – is set to make its inaugural flight by the end of the year.