As well as carrying large items, they point out, airships are ideal for transporting light but bulky cargo such as flowers.

ECONOMIST: Pushing the envelope

The A400M fuselage has been designed with a spacious cabin, making it suitable for the transport of bulky cargo like helicopters, heavy vehicles, missile batteries and light vehicles placed side by side.

BBC: A400M: Military workhorse

The court heard the group decided the illicit cargo needed to be something bulky but innocent so they described the containers as toys.

BBC: Port of Felixstowe cigarette smuggling gang jailed

The idea is to carry not people, but cargo: heavy loads, such as turbines, or bulky ones, such as segments of oil refineries.

ECONOMIST: Developing giant airships: Big birds | The