Airlines are investing in sustainable alternatives to reduce emissions like every other industry. In a recent announcement, low-budget carrier Wizz Air, which has an Abu Dhabi-based joint venture with UAE state holding company ADQ, has partnered with Airbus to develop a hydrogen-powered aircraft. 

The company’s strategy is to promote sustainability across all operations in addition to making air travel affordable without compromising on customer experience, the company said. 

Under the partnership, Wizz Air will look into how operating zero-emission hydrogen aircraft could impact the company’s future business model and identify operational and infrastructure opportunities and challenges of hydrogen aircraft. 

Both parties will collaborate to develop a deep understanding of the impact of hydrogen aircraft on Wizz Air’s fleet, operations, and infrastructure, including its network, scheduling, ground bases, and airports, by considering specific aircraft characteristics, such as achievable range and refueling time.

 “We are very pleased to have Wizz Air on board to collaborate on the ongoing research and development into the requirements for hydrogen aircraft operations within a hydrogen-powered aviation ecosystem. Understanding airline fleet and network performance enable us to better define the architectural characteristics for a future ZEROe aircraft and the impact on airports, ground support, and route network,” said Glenn Llewellyn, Vice President Zero Emission Aircraft, Airbus, in a statement.

The announcement follows a deal last November, when Wizz Air signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase 102 A321 aircraft, including 75 A321neos and 27 Airbus A321XLRs.