Most hot air balloons to cross the English Channel

Calais, France – April 12, 2017 – A total of 82 balloons that took off from Dover in Kent have been flown across the English Channel and made it to France, setting the new world record for the Most hot air balloons to cross the English Channel.

Photo: The cohort of 85 hot air balloons flew from Dover to Calais early on Friday morning, in an attempt to beat the current world record for the largest group of air balloons to cross the Channel, which stands at 49.

The Guinness World Records world record for the most hot air balloons to cross the English Channel is 49 and was organised by Palletways (UK) on 7 April 2011. The group took off from Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Dover, UK and landed at Calais Airport, France.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the largest display of model hot air balloons; it is 55 and was achieved at an event organised by Wolfgang Stötzner (Germany) in Brigachtal, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, on 26 September 2015.

The previous Guinness world record for the number of balloons flying over the channel was 49.

The mission was masterminded by Exclusive Ballooning, a hot air balloon marketing group, which set the previous record of 49 balloons in 2011, along with members of recruitment firm Datum RPO.

The cohort of 85 hot air balloons flew from Dover to Calais early on Friday morning, in an attempt to beat the current world record for the largest group of air balloons to cross the Channel, which stands at 49.

The voyage began at 6.10am on Friday morning and landed safely in Calais less than three hours later, after flying across the busiest shipping lane in the world.