Airlander 10 to fly 'higher, faster and further' from Cardington base

Permission has been granted for the Airlander to fly higher, faster and further

The world's longest aircraft has been given the go-ahead to fly higher, faster and further on test flights.

European Aviation Safety Agency has also deemed Airlander 10 ready for customer trials and demonstrations, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) said.

The company said this latest testing phase was an "important moment in our Airlander journey".

The aircraft has returned to its hangar in Bedfordshire for upgrades ahead of the new round of testing.

An HAV spokesman said the regulator validated data from its test flights and agreed it was safe to fly in a wider range of conditions.

He said the permission, known as Airworthiness Release 2a, permits them to fly up to 7,000ft (2,136m), up to 50 knots and up to 75 nautical miles away from its airfield - currently at Cardington.

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The aircraft measures 302ft (92m) long and is about 50ft (15m) longer than the biggest passenger jets

The £25m aircraft - a combination of a plane and an airship - returned to the sky in May after it had a heavy landing during a test flight in August 2016.

It then reached its highest ever altitude - 3,500ft (1,076m) - in June.

HAV has revealed it is set to move its operations to help the project grow.

It is not yet known where Airlander 10's new home will be, but a film company which occupies the next door hangar is due to take up the vacant space.

Airlander 10 reached its highest ever altitude, 3,500ft (1,067m), in June