Supersonics are back. Around the world, aerospace companies and organisations, including Nasa, are developing the technology that will allow passengers once again to fly at faster than the speed of sound. The first of this new breed of aircraft could be flying early in the 2020s.

It was way back in 2003 that Concorde was retired. The airliner entered service in 1976 but was hobbled by complaints that it was too loud. As a result, it could only break the sound barrier when flying over the ocean. This restricted its operation and turned it into a niche aircraft operated only by British Airways and Air France on transatlantic flights.

“The technology simply did not exist to create a new generation of practical and efficient supersonic airliners,” says Doug Nichols, CEO of Aerion, an aviation company in the vanguard of the revival. Now, however, technology has advanced and companies smell profits.

Although it was widely reported that Concorde was a loss leader, that is not a fair assessment, according to Ben Lord, chairman of the Save Concorde Group. “It annoys me when I hear that Concorde was a financial failure,” says Lord. “In its last six months of operation, BA made £54m net profits from five aircraft.”

Read the article “New Era Beckons for Supersonic Air Travel” on theguardian.com.