Hovertravel

Hovertravel Limited is a ferry company operating from Southsea, Portsmouth, to Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. It is the largest passenger hovercraft company currently operating in the world since the demise of Hoverspeed. Hovertravel is now the world's oldest hovercraft operator, and this service is believed to be unique in western Europe. Hovertravel describes itself as "the world's only year-round passenger hovercraft service" (although there is a regular winter-only operator in Estonia). The operator's principal service operates between Southsea Common on the English mainland and Ryde Transport Interchange on the Isle of Wight: the crossing time of less than 10 minutes makes it the fastest route across the Solent from shore to shore. This service commenced operations in 1965. Hovertravel currently operates two 12000TD hovercraft on a single route between Ryde and Southsea. Additionally, Hovertravel has frequently operated other routes throughout the United Kingdom, typically as charter services.