Taking off last Friday, 13 May, the flight lasted for 12 hours 59 minutes and was propelled solely by solar energy.
The plane, flown by André Borschberg, CEO and co-founder of the project, took off in the morning from Payerne aerodrome in Switzerland. It crossed the Alsace toward Nancy and Metz, before over-flying the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg and finally arriving in Belgium to land on Runway 02 at Brussels Airport (Zaventem).
During the flight, Borschberg explained: "It's a spectacular flight. The take off was a little challenging, because we had to rush due to air traffic activity ( ) Its unbelievably exciting to land here in Brussels, at the heart of Europe, after flying across France and Luxemburg. And to fly without fuel, noise or pollution, making practically no negative impact, is a great source of satisfaction."
??Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Company, added: "This airplane, the first to function without fossil fuel and without emitting CO2, symbolizes the great efforts the aeronautical industry is making to develop new technologies for energy saving and increased use of renewable energies."
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