16th August 2026
For more than a century, aviation has been tied to one remarkable invention: the jet engine.
It transformed the world, shrinking continents and making international travel commonplace. But it also created a problem that is proving exceptionally difficult to solve — aircraft need enormous amounts of energy, yet every extra kilogram they carry into the sky matters.
Now something remarkable is happening.
Electric aircraft are beginning to move from the laboratory towards serious flight testing, and the first challenge to conventional jet-fuel aviation may not come from a battery-powered Airbus or Boeing.
It may come from a much smaller aircraft flying a relatively short route.
And for Scotland, particularly remote areas such as Caithness and the Highlands, that could eventually become very important.
The electric aircraft has finally taken a significant step forward
In July 2026, NASA and GE Aerospace announced that a modified Saab 340B had successfully demonstrated a megawatt-class hybrid-electric propulsion system in flight.
This is important because the Saab 340 is a genuine regional aircraft rather than a tiny experimental aeroplane. The technology being tested is intended to help develop future commercial aircraft propulsion systems.
It doesn't mean that passengers will be boarding completely electric airliners tomorrow.
But it does demonstrate something that was once largely theoretical:
Electric motors can now be incorporated into the propulsion system of a substantial aircraft and tested in real flight.
That changes the discussion.
We are no longer asking whether electric propulsion can work.
We are increasingly asking how large an aircraft it can power, how far it can fly and when it becomes economically competitive.
Why not simply replace jet engines with batteries?
This is where aviation becomes very different from the car industry.
A car can carry a large battery because it doesn't have to lift that battery into the sky.
An aircraft does.
And the battery remains onboard throughout the journey.
Jet fuel has an enormous advantage because it contains a huge amount of energy relative to its weight. Batteries are improving, but they still have a long way to go before they can provide the same practical energy density for large aircraft.
NASA continues to research much higher-performance aviation batteries because battery weight remains one of the major obstacles to longer-range electric flight.
There is therefore a fundamental problem:
The bigger and longer-range the aircraft, the harder it becomes to use batteries.
That is why the first major challenge to conventional aviation is much more likely to come from small and regional aircraft than from long-haul jets.
The hybrid aircraft may be the real breakthrough
This is perhaps the most important point.
The future may not initially be:
Jet fuel versus batteries.
It could be:
Jet fuel plus electricity.
A hybrid-electric aircraft can use a conventional turbine engine alongside electric motors and batteries.
The turbine can provide the main energy source while electricity provides additional power where it is most useful.
NASA describes hybrid-electric systems as combining traditional fuel-based propulsion with batteries that can provide additional energy during flight.
This could allow engineers to make better use of electric motors without requiring batteries capable of powering the entire aircraft for hundreds or thousands of miles.
It is rather like what happened with cars.
The hybrid car did not require the internal combustion engine to disappear overnight.
Instead, electricity was introduced where it could provide the greatest benefit.
Aviation could follow the same path.
And the power involved is enormous
There is another reason this transition won't happen overnight.
NASA estimates that future single-aisle electrified aircraft could require somewhere between 3 and 20 megawatts of power.
That is an extraordinary amount of electricity for an aircraft.
It means airports of the future may need a completely different electricity infrastructure.
Instead of simply supplying lighting, buildings and conventional aircraft services, an airport could eventually need to deliver enormous quantities of electricity to aircraft in a very short period.
Imagine an aircraft arriving at Wick Airport with batteries partly depleted.
Instead of a fuel tanker connecting to the aircraft, a high-capacity electrical connection could recharge it while passengers disembark and board.
That is a very different airport.
So when will passengers actually fly on electric aircraft?
There is no single date because different aircraft will make the transition at different speeds.
The late 2020s
We are likely to see increasing numbers of demonstrations, certification programmes and limited commercial applications involving small electric aircraft, electric propulsion systems and emerging eVTOL aircraft.
These will be the pioneers.
The 2030s
This is where things could become much more interesting.
Regional aircraft using hybrid-electric propulsion could begin challenging conventional turboprops and smaller jet aircraft on some routes.
The crucial question will no longer be simply:
Can it fly?
It will be:
Can it fly more cheaply?
If electric propulsion reduces fuel consumption and maintenance costs sufficiently, airlines will have a powerful financial reason to adopt it.
The 2040s and beyond
Larger electrified aircraft could begin appearing if battery technology continues to improve.
But I would be cautious about predictions that battery-electric aircraft will soon replace long-haul jets.
A battery-powered aircraft flying from London to New York is an entirely different engineering problem from a small electric aircraft flying a few hundred miles.
Long-haul aviation may continue to rely on some combination of highly efficient jet engines, sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and hybrid-electric technology for many decades.
This could completely change regional aviation
This is where the story becomes particularly interesting for Scotland.
Consider a route such as:
Wick → Inverness
Today, operating a relatively small aircraft over a short distance can be difficult economically.
Fuel is expensive.
Aircraft maintenance is expensive.
Airports have substantial fixed costs.
And passenger numbers are limited.
But suppose future electric or hybrid aircraft dramatically reduce the cost of operating a regional aircraft.
Suddenly, routes that are currently marginal could become more viable.
That could potentially change the economics of remote communities.
And it isn't just Scotland.
Norway, Sweden, Canada and other countries with remote communities and relatively short regional routes could also become early markets.
Scotland has another advantage
Scotland has something that electric aviation will desperately need:
electricity.
Scotland has enormous renewable-energy resources, particularly wind.
The Scottish Government has highlighted the importance of renewable electricity in its 2026–2040 climate strategy, while Scotland has already generated more than half of its electricity from renewable sources over the past two decades.
That creates an intriguing possibility.
Instead of:
Oil field → refinery → tanker → airport → aircraft
we could eventually have:
Wind turbine → electricity grid → airport → aircraft.
The aircraft would effectively be carrying Scottish renewable electricity into the sky.
But there is a catch
Electric aviation doesn't mean airports can simply install a few charging points.
Remember NASA's estimate of up to 20 MW for future single-aisle electrified aircraft.
If several aircraft arrive at an airport simultaneously and require rapid charging, the electricity demand could be enormous.
That means electric aviation could require:
stronger electricity grids around airports
large-scale charging infrastructure
energy storage
smart charging systems
potentially dedicated renewable generation
major investment in airport infrastructure.
The airport of the future may therefore look as much like an energy facility as a transport facility.
And that could be particularly important in Caithness
Caithness has spent years discussing renewable electricity generation, transmission constraints and the development of offshore wind.
But one of the biggest questions surrounding renewable energy is:
What do we do with all the electricity?
Electric vehicles provide one answer.
Heat pumps provide another.
Industrial electrification provides another.
And eventually, aviation could become another major consumer.
Imagine a future in which an aircraft operating from Wick is charged using electricity generated by Scotland's wind farms.
The idea sounds futuristic.
But the basic technologies are already being developed.
The remaining question is scale.
It could also change the economics of remote Scotland
There is an important possibility that politicians and planners should perhaps begin considering now.
If electric aircraft make short regional flights cheaper, Scotland could eventually see a revival of some smaller air routes.
That could be enormously significant for the Highlands and Islands.
An electrically powered aircraft doesn't have to be enormous to be useful.
A 20-, 30- or 50-seat aircraft capable of making several short flights each day could potentially provide a very different service from today's large jet aircraft.
And because electric motors can be much quieter than conventional propulsion systems, there could potentially be benefits for communities living close to airports.
The combination of:
quiet aircraft + lower operating costs + renewable electricity
could make regional aviation much more attractive.
But don't write off jet fuel yet
It would be a mistake to assume that the oil industry is about to lose aviation as a customer.
The opposite is likely to be true for quite some time.
Long-haul aircraft will remain dependent on extremely energy-dense fuels for years.
Even hybrid aircraft will continue to require fuel.
Sustainable aviation fuels are also being developed as a way of reducing the carbon intensity of conventional aircraft.
And Scotland's own climate policy recognises that moving aviation away from kerosene towards sustainable aviation fuels, battery-electric aircraft and hydrogen-powered aircraft will involve significant costs.
So the transition is likely to be gradual rather than revolutionary.
The oil market could nevertheless feel the consequences
There is a much bigger economic question here.
Road transport has already begun reducing its dependence on oil through electric vehicles.
Heating is increasingly moving towards electricity and other alternatives.
Industry is electrifying.
If aviation eventually begins doing the same, another enormous source of oil demand will start to change.
It won't happen overnight.
But energy markets don't necessarily need an industry to disappear before prices and investment decisions are affected.
If investors begin to believe that aviation fuel demand will peak and eventually decline, that could influence:
oil exploration
refinery investment
fuel prices
aircraft manufacturing
airport investment
renewable-energy development
electricity demand.
The electric aircraft therefore isn't just an aviation story.
It could eventually become an energy story.
And Scotland could be sitting in an interesting position
There is an irony here.
Scotland has abundant renewable resources but relatively high electricity costs and major difficulties getting new generation connected to the grid.
At the same time, aviation is one of the sectors that is hardest to decarbonise.
If electric and hybrid aircraft become commercially viable, Scotland's renewable electricity could eventually become part of the solution.
But only if the infrastructure is there.
That means decisions being made today about:
wind farms, transmission networks, airports, storage and electricity pricing
could influence whether Scotland benefits from the next aviation revolution.
The real question isn't whether electric planes will replace jets
I think that is the wrong question.
The better question is:
Which aircraft will become electric first?
The answer is likely to be:
small aircraft first, regional aircraft next, hybrid aircraft after that — and large long-haul aircraft much later, if at all.
That could still represent an enormous transformation.
We have already watched the motor car begin moving from petrol towards electricity.
We are watching heating move towards electricity.
We are electrifying industrial processes.
And now aviation which is arguably the most difficult transport sector of all is beginning to move in the same direction.
The July 2026 NASA/GE flight demonstration is therefore worth paying attention to.
It isn't the arrival of the electric airliner.
It is something more important:
a demonstration that electricity can begin taking a meaningful role in powering a real regional aircraft.
And once that technology becomes commercially attractive, the consequences could reach far beyond the aircraft itself.
For Scotland, the really exciting possibility is that one day a passenger boarding a small aircraft at Wick may not simply be flying on electricity.
They could be flying on Scottish wind power.
That may sound futuristic today.
But the technology that could make it possible is already flying.