Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Swedish airport owner and operator Swedavia officially inaugurated new electric aircraft charging infrastructure at Visby Airport on the island of Gotland as the first electric airplane landed at the field on October 1. 
The infrastructure consists of three charging stations for electric aircraft&nbsp;at two sites at Visby Airport. Two charging stations occupy the airport’s main apron for aircraft while the third sits at the Gotland Flying Club, in the southern part of the airport. 
“Electric aircraft will play an important role in the aviation industry’s shift to fossil-free air travel," said Visby Airport director Gunnar Jonasson. "For that reason, it feels really positive for us that now, in addition to the airport and aircraft manufacturers, there is also an airline, Braathens Regional Aviation [BRA], that sees the potential and wants to start flying commercial electric aircraft between Gotland and Stockholm once this is possible.&nbsp;The next step is to intensify the work to establish both the infrastructural and commercial conditions needed together with other partners in the region, the business community, and the aviation industry.”
Swedavia has provided funding for the electric aircraft charging stations in collaboration with Region Gotland and GEAB. Climate Leap (Klimatklivet), the Swedish Environmental Agency’s program for local and regional investment support to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, supplied additional funding for the installation.&nbsp;
Several other electric aviation and research projects related to sustainable air travel have gotten underway at Swedavia’s airports. The company established a test center for electric aviation and autonomous aerial vehicles at Åre Östersund Airport last year as part of the Green Flyway program.
At Umeå Airport, Swedavia serves as a partner in a project run by the municipality of Umeå, named Fossil-Free Aviation in Northern Sweden: A Feasibility Study. The project involves a case study on electric aviation conducted by Umeå Airport and Åre Östersund Airport. At Umeå Airport, another aviation project also underway—FAIR (Finding Innovations to Accelerate the Implementation of Electric Regional Aviation)—focuses on sustainable air travel in the Kvarken region, which extends across northern Scandinavia.

Gregory Polek

In 2020, Swedavia established a test center for electric aviation and autonomous aerial vehicles at Åre Östersund Airport, and now it is making investments in electric charging stations at Visby Airport. (Image: Swedavia).

Electric Aircraft Charging Stations Open at Sweden’s Visby Airport

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