Room without a view! Locals are furious that giant blimp which will take tourists 400 feet into the sky is blocking their stunning coastal vistas
- The SkyFlyer balloon shows tourists stunning sea views in Rhyl, North Wales
- The £2.5million investment is said to be expected to attract 100,000 visitors
Locals in Wales have been left furious by news that a giant tourist blimp is set to block their stunning coastal vistas.
The SkyFlyer aerostat balloon will take visitors 400ft into the air on a ‘UK-exclusive adventure’ on their seaside days out.
But the launch site sits just yards from a row of family homes – and for years they have loved stunning sea views in Rhyl, North Wales.
One homeowner snapped a photo of her front window with the white inflatable blimp filling up the entire windowpane.
She blasted it as ‘absolutely disgusting’ while calling for the ‘awful thing’ to be moved near the harbour ‘where it won’t affect anyone’s views’.
Locals in Wales have been left furious by news that a giant tourist blimp is set to block their stunning coastal vistas
One homeowner snapped a photo of her front window with the white inflatable blimp filling up the entire windowpane
The £2.5million SkyFlyer is undergoing test flights so it can be eventually cleared for commercial flights for passengers.
It can carry up to 28 passengers at a time and owners Zip World believe it could attract more than 100,000 visitors a year.
The UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency showed blimps can often carry on flying for hours even if riddled with bullets or missiles.
But it will not start carrying passengers until a high safety benchmark has been passed with the Civil Aviation Authority overseeing tests.
Zip World staff say they went up last week as part of a test flight – and said the experience was ‘absolutely amazing.’
Bosses at the attraction say the SkyFlyer can ‘fly safely in typical British weather’ even though the maiden flight set for July last year has been postponed three times.
The delays have been due to weather conditions, a ‘manufacturing issue’ and an ‘engineering and design challenge’.
Adventure company Zip World says it has full planning consent for its promenade launch site and is keen to start flights as soon as possible.
The SkyFlyer aerostat balloon will take visitors 400ft into the air on a ‘UK-exclusive adventure’ on their seaside days out
The £2.5million SkyFlyer is undergoing test flights so it can be eventually cleared for commercial flights for passengers
The launch site sits just yards from a row of family homes – and for years they have loved stunning sea views in Rhyl, North Wales (stock picture)
A spokesman for the adventure firm said: ‘We are satisfied that the new site meets all planning requirements and matches the plans submitted.
‘We are currently awaiting the Civil Aviation Authority to complete its final rigorous safety tests before we are able to confirm a launch date.
‘However, we are hopeful that these will be completed imminently – dependent on weather conditions – and that we’ll be able to announce a launch date very soon.’
Skyflyer is Zip World’s 23rd adventure scheme since the company launched in 2013.
The spokesman added: ‘We’re confident that Skyflyer will become a flagship attraction in Rhyl, offering visitors a unique and exciting experience as they are elevated 400ft in the air to enjoy 360-degree panoramic views of the beautiful North Wales coast, Liverpool, the Isle of Man and beyond.’
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