Room for around 5,000 guests, and recreational facilities such as cinemas, swimming pools, spas and even shopping malls. This is the crazy project unveiled in this video.
A futuristic video featuring a gigantic flying hotel capable of staying in the sky for years has caused a stir on the internet. Yemeni engineer Hashem Al-Ghaili, who created the Sky Cruise concept video, told CNN: “I imagined a world where traveling from one place to another becomes a joyful experience, rather than fighting for leg room”. ‘Al Ghaili says he got his inspiration from one of his favorite movies, Studio Ghibli’s “Castle in the Sky” cartoon, which features huge flying ships with people living inside them.
Much like those ships, Sky Cruise is massive in scale, with room for around 5,000 guests, and recreational facilities like cinemas, swimming pools, spas, and even shopping malls. Sky Cruise would run on clean nuclear fusion power – a technology that does not yet exist – which would allow it to “stay above the clouds for several years”, says Al Ghaili. Supplies and guests would be brought to the hotel using electric commercial airliners and private jets, he adds.
The only problem with his invention: it goes beyond the limits of current technology and violates the laws of physics. Still, Hashem Al-Ghaili, who created the Sky Cruise concept video based on a futuristic design by artist Alexander Tujicov, insists it’s only a matter of ‘time’ before until aeronautical engineering catches up with his vision.
And, he says, his extravagant concept will help push the boundaries of what’s possible. However, due to its gigantic size, it would need new infrastructure and adaptations from the aviation industry. “The Sky Cruise is super massive!” he said. “That means he’ll need a huge airstrip that doesn’t exist now.” And that’s not all, as it would also require changes to air navigation protocols to ensure that other air traffic moves out of its path.
Not everyone shares Al Ghaili’s confidence in the potential of this extraordinary design, with many of his millions of Facebook followers pointing out fundamental flaws in Sky Cruise’s design. “Whether nuclear powered or not, gravity will never let this thing lift off the ground,” one wrote. Some questioned the wisdom of sending a nuclear reactor into the air, while another pointed to a very simple problem: keeping water in the pool during liftoff.
Al Ghaili insists his video, viewed 9.3 million times on Facebook, has a purpose beyond viral entertainment. “Disruptive concepts like this inspire change and help us move humanity forward,” he says.