Clip-on fuselage on rails could transform air travel

Instead, researchers working on EPFL’s Clip-Air project propose a system that let’s airline passengers board a 30m long capsule at railway stations, which then travels via rail to the airport where it is then clipped to the underside of a waiting aircraft.

The specially designed flying wing aircraft would be able to carry up to three capsules designed to carry freight or 150 passengers each.

The Clip-Air project, in development at EPFL since 2009, is designed to provide a future air travel scenario that is more flexible, more efficient and less energy-consuming.

The project is clearly futuristic in its outlook but the scientists behind it are said to be working within credible constraints to maintain its technical feasibility.

‘We still have to break down several barriers but we do believe that it is worth [it] to work in such a concept, at odds with current aircraft technology and which can have a huge impact on society,’ said project leader Claudio Leonardi.