Non-stop flights to Australia from the UK could eventually become a reality under European plans to refuel commercial aircraft in mid-air via a refuelling aircraft that would be capable of topping up as many as seven passenger aircraft. Mid-air refuelling is already established for military aircraft.

The £2.7 million project, funded by the EU, has already found that overall fuel consumption can be cut significantly by allowing aircraft to take off and land with a lighter load.

The technology is being devised as part of the Research for a Cruiser Enabled Air Transport Environment (Recreate) project led by experts from nine European universities and research bodies, including Queen’s University Belfast.

Bart Heesbeen, senior research and development engineer at the National Aerospace Laboratory in Amsterdam, which is leading the programme, said that the “cruiser-feeder” system could revolutionise air travel.

Researchers have stated that, by refuelling in mid-air instead of taking off with a full fuel load, overall consumption can be reduced by 11-23%. The Recreate scientists are also working on a system that would involve nuclear-propelled “cruisers” circling the globe, with passengers, luggage and cargo being delivered in mid-air by smaller “feeder aircraft”.