Electric Aviation Takes Flight in Switzerland

Happy Monday!

Confession. Until yesterday, I had never heard of Electrifly-In Switzerland.

It just turned ten.

Three days at Bern Airport. Electric, hybrid, and hydrogen aircraft on the ramp. Trial flights for the public, pilots racing across borders on electric power. A national airline on stage.

And I missed it. All of it.

The Scene

Friday night, airport CEO Urs Ryf and Swiss National Councillor Matthias Juslin opened the doors.

Then seven teams pitched. Milan Aircraft. AeroDelft. Smartflyer. CELLSIUS. Levitate Aerospace. Unicorn Aviation. And a crew electrifying a vintage Bücker Jungmann.

A yellow Bücker Jungmann biplane marked A-10, with a Swiss cross on the tail, parked outside a hangar. — Bücker Jungmann - this, but electric!

Engineer Marc Corpataux made the call of the weekend. Every training aircraft in Switzerland goes electric by 2030.

Unicorn Aviation walked away with the Innovation Award for its Flex-Fuel fuel injection.

The Compounding

The event started in 2017 as the Smartflyer Challenge.

A long-winged solar-powered aircraft flying low over a grass field as spectators watch.

One team. One hometown airport in Grenchen.

The world’s first all-electric fly-in.

Then it compounded.

2020 - 16 electric aircraft. Bertrand Piccard signs on as patron.

2022 - Outgrows Grenchen. Moves to Bern.

2025 - Smartflyer signs H55 for batteries, on stage.

2026 - Tenth edition.

A handshake turns into hardware. H55’s batteries landed at Smartflyer in April. First flight is targeted for this fall.

Why Europe

Earlier this month, I wrote that America is the outlier. Only 1% of North American airports are privately owned.

Bar chart of airport ownership by region. Europe has the most private participation, about 75 percent; North American airports are almost all government owned. — Chart from previous post

Here’s what jumped out at me in Bern.

The airport didn’t just host. It sponsored.

Flughafen Bern AG signed on at the Megawatt level. The Canton of Bern and the City of Bern backed it through their economic development offices. SWISS put its name on it. So did Waterjet AG, Farizon Auto, and EnergyFarm AG.

That’s the whole stack.

Airport. Airline. Government. Industry. One hangar. One objective. Electric flight.

A white electric two-seat aircraft flying over a green hillside, with a large historic building below.

When an airport runs like a business, a new aircraft is a new customer. Bern rolled out the red carpet.

The signs of life in electric aviation are likely to appear in places like this. Grenchen. Bern. Memmingen.

We must keep our eyes overseas. And next September, I want to be in Bern.

Godspeed.

PS - here’s a great video recap via Matt’s Aviation Channel. Enjoy!