The first powered, passenger-carrying airship, the Giffard dirigible, travels 17 miles (27 km) from Paris to Trappes.

The Giffard dirigible or Giffard airship was an airship built in France in 1852 by Henri Giffard, it was the first powered and steerable airship to fly. The craft featured an elongated hydrogen-filled envelope that tapered to a point at each end. From this was suspended a long beam with a…