The 40-seat plane took off at 8:41 a.m. from Grant County International Airport and flew for 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of 3,500 feet.

The flight was conducted under a special FAA certificate and was the first in a two-year test campaign that is set to culminate in 2025 with the entry into commercial service of an ATR 72 regional jet converted to run on hydrogen. Also present were representatives from the new airline that wants to develop a smarter passenger experience to monitor their own aircraft.

The aforementioned airline, Connect Airlines, recently signed a purchase agreement with Universal Hydrogen for 75 hydrogen propulsion systems for their passenger aircraft.