Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) is a Bedford-based company that has developed a new environmentally friendly airship.

Promising to offer routes from Liverpool to Belfast and Barcelona to the Balearic Islands – with a much smaller carbon footprint than flying.

The CO2 footprint per passenger would be around 4.5kg, compared with about 53kg via jet plane.

“This isn’t a luxury product it’s a practical solution to challenges posed by the climate crisis,” said Tom Grundy, HAV’s chief executive.

“We’ve got aircraft designed to travel very long distances going very short distances when there is actually a better solution. How much longer will we expect to have the luxury of travelling these short distances with such a big carbon footprint?”

“It’s an early and quick win for the climate. Especially when you use this to get over an obstacle like water or hills,” he added.

The company is finding a suitable location for its production line in the UK. It will hire about 500 people to build the craft, and it lead to an additional 1,500 jobs in the supply chain.