OSLO: An electric plane took to the skies between the Norwegian airports Stavanger and Bergen on Thursday, simulating a cargo flight for the first time in real-life conditions, Norwegian airlines operator Avinor said.

The small aircraft — an Alia built by US manufacturer Beta — flew the 160 kilometres in a test run by the Norwegian affiliate of the transport company Bristow.

The flight took 55 minutes and simulated a cargo flight route in south-eastern Norway.

“This is the first time an electric plane has taken the trade route between Stavanger and Bergen,” one of Avinor’s directors, Karianne Helland Strand, said.

“Everything went very well,” she added.

The test flight — using visuals rather than instruments — is part of an evaluation of how well it could be integrated into air traffic and infrastructure on the ground.

The Norwegian regulatory authorities are closely linked to the tests to ensure that electric flights can launch commercially as soon as the technology is ready, which is expected between 2028 and 2030.

The test period began last month and will last until January.

“It’s like the first real world test,” pilot Jeremy Degagne said.

The plane’s battery life allows journeys of up to 400 kilometres — enough for a return flight between Stavanger and Bergen.

“I don’t have range anxiety because we plan to fly the aircraft within its limitations,” said Degagne.

“In your electric car you might be like, oh I think I can make it 10 more kilometres to that charging station,” he continued.

“And in the context of aviation, you wouldn’t do that. We have the same limitations of energy as a normal aircraft does for fuel.”

In Aug 2019, Avinor’s then-CEO Dag Falk-Petersen was forced to emergency land an electric plane he was piloting himself in southern Norway when an engine lost power.

Falk-Petersen was not injured during the incident, nor was a Norwegian minister, who was also on the plane.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2025