Some years after Google’s failed attempt to commercialise high altitude platform stations (HAPS), AALTO HAPS, a subsidiary of aerospace corporation Airbus based in the UK, says it is still on track for commercial HAPS services to begin in 2026 and that it has set a world record for global aviation with its solar-powered Zephyr HAPS.
Designed, manufactured and operated by AALTO, Zephyr concluded 67 days, 6 hours and 52 minutes of continuous flight in the stratosphere on 28 April 2025. This, we are told, surpassed Zephyr’s previous flight record of 64 days in 2022 and breaks the world record for longest flight duration that has stood for half a century.
After launching from what it calls its AALTOPORT in Kenya on 20 February 2025, Zephyr conducted connectivity payload testing before transiting to Australian airspace. During this transit, Zephyr navigated seven different flight information regions, the most ever recorded by a HAPS.
The aircraft also crossed the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) twice – a demonstration of Zephyr’s stability and performance during changing weather conditions in southern and northern hemispheres. The ITCZ is a low-pressure belt near the Earth’s equator where the trade winds from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres converge, leading to frequent thunderstorms and heavy rain.
The record-breaking flight terminated safely over a designated aviation sanctuary area in the Indian ocean.
This flight was facilitated by a regulatory framework in Kenya, led by the Kenya Space Agency and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. With the support of its regulators, shareholders and partners, AALTO is preparing to commercialise HAPS services with initial targeted entry-into-service in Japan during 2026.
As for what that service will be, as a payload-agnostic platform Zephyr can deliver several applications including targeted surveillance, disaster management, border protection, and precision agriculture.
It’s not clear how or whether Zephyr will also be used to support communications in remote areas or emerging markets, for which HAPS, if commercially feasible, could be ideal. However, recent AALTO news in these pages includes MoUs in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
