Airship firm Hybrid Air Vehicles lands second huge order ahead of South Yorkshire factory launch

An airship firm creating 1,200 jobs in South Yorkshire has landed another multi-million pound order - although the factory site remains secret.

Hybrid Air Vehicles says it has been asked to build an extra 10 Airlanders by Spanish company, Air Nostrum Group, on top of the 10 announced last year.

The order is for 100-seat aircraft and it is hoped the first three will be in service in 2027.

It is a huge boost for HAV as it prepares to open a factory, believed to be in Doncaster, although the site has yet to be announced.

In March, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, led by Mayor Oliver Coppard, announced £7m for the firm which is set to create more than 1,200 ‘highly skilled jobs and thriving new supply chains’.

Bedford-based HAV says Airlanders can stay up for five days, put down on sand, ice or water and don’t need a runway. They also produce just 25 per cent of a plane’s carbon emissions, set to fall to zero when a fully electric version comes out in 2030.