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The Goodyear Blimp is gracing UK skies for the first time in four years after leaving France this morning and crossing the Channel.
The semi-rigid Zeppelin NT airship measures over 75 metres in length and almost 18 metres in height.
Office workers were in for a surprise when they looked out their windows today in London and saw the massive aircraft whizz by.
The slow-moving blimp, which only reaches max speeds of 73mph, was last seen in the UK back in 2022 over London.
It hasn’t been seen since – until today, when it was spotted over Kent, and a few hours later, over Central London.
It’s become a common sight at sports events around the world, but is particularly well known in the United States.
Some Londoners were surprised to see the blimp, with one joking that it was like the Blitz all over again.
In World War I, German Zeppelins bombed central London and were known as ‘silent’ raids because of how quiet the blimps were.
668 Londoners were killed, and millions of pounds of damage were caused to homes and businesses.
Compared to the Blitz in World War Two, however, the Zeppelins in London didn’t cause nearly as much damage.
Without its lifting gas, the Goodyear Blimp weighs over 9,072 kg. Once inflated with helium and after accounting for fuel, payload and ballast, it weighs in at around 45-90 kg.