What a let down! £2.5million blimp cannot get off the ground due to high winds – as locals say they are ‘glad to see the back of it’ after complaints it blocked seafront views
- Zip World’s Sky Flyer, in Rhyl, North Wales, deflated today due to high winds
A £2.5million blimp cannot get off the ground due to high winds as locals have said they are ‘glad to see the back of it’ following complaints of blocked seafront views.
Zip World’s Sky Flyer in Rhyl has been hit by technical problems that has seen its launch delayed a number of times.
Now the blimp – next to the Rhyl Pavilion – has been left in a heap after high wind speeds on the seafront today.
The SkyFlyer aerostat balloon was designed to take visitors 400ft into the air on a ‘UK-exclusive adventure’ on their seaside days out, with owners Zip World believing it could attract more than 100,000 visitors a year.
It comes after North Wales was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Lee, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
A £2.5million blimp cannot get off the ground due to high winds as locals have said they are ‘glad to see the back of it’ following complaints of blocked seafront views
Zip World’s Sky Flyer in Rhyl has been hit by technical problems that has seen its launch delayed a number of times
Now the blimp – next to the Rhyl Pavilion – has been left in a heap after high wind speeds on the seafront today
The intense weather saw the blimp, which can carry up to 28 passengers at a time, deflate today at around 5pm.
Zip World has said that the blimp deflated but also gave assurances it was safe.
A spokesperson said: ‘We are aware that the Skyflyer aerostat has deflated and our team is currently onsite to manage the situation.
READ MORE: 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
‘We would like to reassure the local community that the surrounding area is safe and apologise for any inconvenience caused.’
Delays the balloon’s launch date have been due to weather conditions, a ‘manufacturing issue’ and an ‘engineering and design challenge’.
And people were quick to comment online about it deflating.
One said: ‘What a shame. Hope it gets fixed soon. Rhyl needs things to bring people in. The Zip World people have made a great impact elsewhere in Wales.
‘Really good that they chose Rhyl for the Sky Flyer. Let’s hope it gets sorted quickly.’
However others said they were ‘glad to see the back of it’.
There have been complaints about it blocking the view on the seafront for some.
The SkyFlyer aerostat balloon was designed to take visitors 400ft into the air on a ‘UK-exclusive adventure’ on their seaside days out, with owners Zip World believing it could attract more than 100,000 visitors a year
Locals in Wales have been left furious by news that a giant tourist blimp is set to block their stunning coastal vistas
The launch site sits just yards from a row of family homes – and for years they have loved stunning sea views in the area.
But back in July, one homeowner 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’.
Zip World employ hundreds of staff at adventure attractions across North and South Wales as well as in England.
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