Watershed moment for aviation: World's first piloted flight in an aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen takes place

The hydrogen plane took off from Maribor in Slovenia. It made four flights, including one that lasted more than three hours. READ MORE: Ryanair claims NATS report on ATC system failure 'fake'

By Ted Thornhill, Mailonline and PA Media Travel Editor

Published: 10:58 BST, 8 September 2023 | Updated: 12:28 BST, 8 September 2023

The “hydrogen barrier” has been broken.

At a watershed moment for aviation, the world's first piloted flights of an electric aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen took place.

H2fly, a developer of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems for aircraft based in Stuttgart, Germany, announced that its HY4 aircraft - equipped with a hydrogen-electric fuel cell propulsion system and of cryogenically stored liquid hydrogen - made four flights, including one that lasted more than three hours.

The hydrogen plane took off from Maribor in Slovenia and "operated safely and efficiently throughout several flight tests", it said H2fly in a statement.

It continues: “The results of the test flights indicate that the use of liquid hydrogen instead of hydrogen gas will double the HY4 aircraft's maximum range from 750 km (466 miles) to 1,500 km. km (932 miles), marking a crucial step towards providing emissions-free, medium and long-haul commercial flights.'