Electric plane plan

EUROPEAN budget airline Easyjet hopes to be flying electric planes within a decade, in a move that could eventually cut fares.

The budget airline is working with US company Wright Electric to develop batterypowered planes for short flights.

These planes – which would cut emissions, noise and fuel consumption – could be used on short-haul routes such as London to Paris or, in Australia, from Sydney to Canberra. The goal is for them to have a range of 570km.