Freight airships coming to Antwerp?

Airships full of freight containers may soon be flying over Antwerp, report De Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg. Flemish minister for mobility Hilde Crevits has commissioned a study to determine whether the airships could be used to transport goods. The first test flight is expected in the first quarter of next year. Crevits said the company Buck Consultants International, based in Zaventem, had been asked to carry out research into the Skycat Hybrid Airships project. The aim is for all research to be completed this year. “If it appears that it is possible to use zeppelins to transport goods, a flight test will be held during the first quarter of 2014,” she said. Luc Broos, director of the association for the development of Antwerp province, said he believed in this new approach in terms of mobility but remained cautious and was waiting to see the results of the test flight.