The Flying Suitcase Journey So Far: Chasing a Guinness World Records Title Across Europe

What happens when you turn a suitcase into a 72ft wide hot air balloon and attempt to fly it across as many countries as possible?

You get early starts, overnight drives across Europe, balloon festivals, huge crowds, unpredictable weather and quite a few mornings spent staring at wind forecasts.

The Send My Bag #FlyingSuitcase took to the skies for the first time in August 2026 as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations. But its journey is only just getting started!

We are attempting to achieve the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most countries flown in by the same hot air balloon in 12 months, with the Flying Suitcase travelling across Europe before the adventure continues further around the world in 2027.

The first few weeks have already taken us from Bristol to Norway and Belgium, with plenty happening between each successful flight.

Here is the story so far.

Where It All Started: Bristol

The journey began at one of the biggest events in the UK ballooning calendar, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

On Friday 7th August, at around 7am, the Flying Suitcase made its first flight.

Seeing a suitcase shaped balloon of this size leave the ground for the first time was quite a way to begin the adventure. The balloon continued to appear throughout the weekend, including a memorable flight over Bristol city centre on the evening of Saturday 8th August and another early morning flight on Sunday.

The Flying Suitcase also took part in the famous Bristol Night Glow, joining the spectacle of balloons lighting up after dark.

It was the first taste of what was to come, and the unusual shape certainly made it difficult to miss.

The appearance also attracted plenty of attention, with the balloon featuring on ITV as the enormous suitcase made its debut in Bristol.

A Change of Plan and an Early Start for Windermere

If there is one thing we have learnt very quickly, it is that hot air ballooning and rigid travel itineraries do not always mix.

An evening flight had originally been planned in York for Friday 14th August. The weather had other ideas.

With conditions unsuitable, the flight was postponed and attention switched to the Lake District. The team set off for Windermere at around 3am, ready to make the most of a possible weather window.

The early start paid off.

On Saturday 15th August, the Flying Suitcase took to the air over Lake Windermere, creating one of the most impressive backdrops of the journey so far.

It was a good example of how quickly plans can change. A flight in one city can disappear from the schedule, only for an opportunity to emerge somewhere completely different a few hours later.

Back to York

York finally got its turn the following day.

After the original Friday flight was postponed, conditions allowed the Flying Suitcase to take off on the evening of Sunday 16th August.

The city provided another spectacular setting, adding a very different backdrop to the open landscapes of the Lake District the previous morning.

By this point, the Flying Suitcase was already clocking up some serious mileage on the ground as well as in the air.

And there was not much time to stop.

Flying by the Angel of the North

The next morning brought another early start.

On Monday 17th August, the Flying Suitcase headed into the skies close to one of the North East's most recognisable landmarks, the Angel of the North.

It was exactly the kind of location we had hoped the journey would create opportunities to visit.

Part of the idea behind the Flying Suitcase has always been to take it somewhere unexpected. A giant piece of luggage floating through the sky is already an unusual sight. Put it alongside some of the UK's best known landmarks and it becomes even harder to ignore.

Northern Ireland and a Very Patient Wait for the Weather

The next stop was Northern Ireland, but getting the flight into the air proved anything but straightforward.

The Flying Suitcase was heading to Binevenagh for a special filming project, with the landscape providing the setting for footage being captured for a Send My Bag cinema advert.

The team had been watching the weather closely for weeks.

Everything initially looked promising for Friday 21st August, only for conditions to change and the flight to be called off late on Thursday. Saturday was then ruled out too.

Finally, early on Sunday 23rd August, the weather cooperated.

At around 6am, the Flying Suitcase was able to take off against the dramatic Northern Irish landscape and the filming could go ahead.

Several days of watching forecasts came down to one short opportunity to get into the air.

That would become a familiar story once the European journey began.

The World Record Attempt Heads to Mainland Europe

After its UK appearances, it was time for the Flying Suitcase to cross the Channel and begin the next stage of its GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ attempt.

The challenge is to fly the same balloon in as many countries as possible within 12 months.

Simply taking the balloon into a country does not count. Conditions need to allow an actual qualifying flight to take place.

That makes weather one of the biggest challenges of the entire attempt.

You can drive hundreds of miles, arrive at the perfect location and have the balloon and crew ready to go, but if the wind is too strong, the flight is not happening.

The Netherlands was the first destination on the mainland European route.

Country Two: The Netherlands

On 26th August, the team arrived in Barneveld for the opening evening of Ballonfiësta Barneveld.

Thousands of spectators were there as the Flying Suitcase prepared for its inaugural mainland European flight.

It was the last balloon out for the evening flight and, despite the wind being a little quicker than everyone would have liked at times, the Flying Suitcase successfully took to the skies against a Dutch sunset.

After a smooth landing, the Netherlands became the second country successfully completed as part of the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ attempt.

The following evening brought another festival and another flight, this time in Twente.

Surrounded by other special shape balloons and another impressive sunset, it was one of those evenings where everything came together.

The next destination would prove considerably harder.

Denmark, Sweden, Norway and a Race Against the Weather

On 28th August, the team left the Netherlands and began the drive towards Denmark.

The forecast was already looking difficult.

After arriving in Ringsted in the early hours of Saturday 29th August, it became clear that conditions in Denmark were not going to provide the opportunity needed.

Sweden was not looking much better.

Rather than sit and wait, the decision was made to keep moving.

The team crossed into Sweden and continued all the way to Norway. Around 12 and a half hours later, they reached Moss on Sunday evening.

Monday morning brought more waiting. Winds were too strong for a flight, and although the team returned to the site later and spent several hours hoping conditions would improve, gusts also ruled out an evening attempt.

Then came Tuesday morning.

Country Three: Norway

Early on 1st September, the weather finally gave the team the window they had been waiting for.

The Flying Suitcase took off in the Hobøl area and Norway officially became country number three in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ attempt.

There was little time to celebrate.

The team packed up and headed towards Kristinehamn in Sweden, hoping there might still be an opportunity to complete another country that evening.

A potential flying site was found around Karlstad, but the wind was stronger and gustier than forecast.

After several hours of waiting, the flight had to be abandoned.

Maybe tomorrow?

Sweden Refuses to Cooperate

Unfortunately, no.

Sweden was ruled out again the following morning because of gusty conditions. There was still a possible opportunity further west, so the team repositioned towards Falkenberg.

By the time they arrived, the wind was strong enough to make another successful flight extremely unlikely.

Time was becoming just as important as the weather.

The Flying Suitcase was due in Sint Niklaas, Belgium, for the start of another balloon festival on Friday 4th September. Waiting indefinitely in Sweden could mean missing the next opportunity entirely.

At 4.30am on Thursday 3rd September, the forecasts were checked again.

The expected improvement had not arrived. The gusts remained and rain had joined them.

Sweden had to be abandoned for the time being.

One Last Chance in Denmark

The route to Belgium took the team back through Denmark, creating one final opportunity to add another country.

Supplies needed to be returned there anyway, so the team remained ready to fly if a suitable gap appeared.

It never did.

There was no opportunity on the evening of 3rd September or the following morning, and the journey continued south towards Belgium.

Northern Europe had provided a reminder that this record attempt was never going to be as simple as drawing a route through a collection of countries.

Sometimes the balloon can travel through three countries and not fly in any of them.

Belgium Wasn't Giving In Easily Either

The team reached Sint Niklaas for the city's balloon festival, but the difficult weather followed them.

Conditions were too poor for flying on Friday 4th September.

Saturday morning was also ruled out. The weather improved enough later in the day for some smaller balloons to fly, but conditions were still not suitable for the Flying Suitcase.

Instead, the balloon was inflated in Sint Niklaas square, giving visitors the chance to see its enormous scale from the ground.

Then, finally, the breakthrough arrived.

Country Four: Belgium

On the morning of Sunday 6th September, the Flying Suitcase was airborne again.

Even that flight had an unexpected ending. Wind carried the balloon far enough that it ultimately landed across the border in the Netherlands.

Fortunately, there was another opportunity later that day.

The Flying Suitcase took off once again that evening, this time completing a flight that both started and finished within Belgium.

Country number four was complete.

After days of strong winds, rain, abandoned attempts and hundreds of miles on the road, Belgium was officially added to the journey.

Back to the UK and on to Longleat

After the European leg, the Flying Suitcase returned to the UK ahead of another major appearance at Longleat from 11th to 13th September.

The UK appearances have been an important part of the journey in their own right.

From Bristol and Windermere to York, the Angel of the North, Northern Ireland and Longleat, they have given us the chance to take the Flying Suitcase to some very different locations before the record attempt continues across Europe.

And there is much more still to come.

Four Countries Down, Plenty More to Go

By early September, the Flying Suitcase had successfully completed qualifying flights in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.

But those four countries only tell part of the story.

There were the abandoned attempts in Denmark and Sweden, the 3am starts, the 4.30am weather checks, the 12 and a half hour drive to Norway and hours spent waiting at potential launch sites hoping the wind would settle.

That unpredictability is exactly what makes the challenge interesting.

The Flying Suitcase is attempting to achieve the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most countries flown in by the same hot air balloon in 12 months, so there is a long way to go yet.

Europe is only the beginning.

The journey is expected to continue through more European countries during autumn 2026, before the Flying Suitcase heads further around the world in 2027, with Australia, the Americas and Asia all part of the wider adventure.

There are also plans to take the balloon to more iconic locations along the way.

Exactly where it manages to fly will ultimately depend on something nobody on the team can control: the weather.

If the first few weeks have taught us anything, though, it is that a cancelled flight does not necessarily mean the end of the plan.

Sometimes it just means another drive, another early alarm and another look at the forecast.

Follow the #FlyingSuitcase as we continue our journey around the world and attempt to make a little bit of ballooning history!