News

At the Pontoise-Cormeilles-en-Vexin airfield a series of experiments with the VoloCity air taxi will be conducted to operate air taxis and drones in the French capital. Paris will offer two air connections in time for the Olympic Games in 2024. A fully functional air transport network will be established by 2030.

The VoloCity air taxi is an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, which was manufactured in Germany. Some of them run on hydrogen. It has a range of 35 kilometres and a top speed of 110 kilometres per hour. By using an air taxi a basically 40-minute journey by regular taxi or public transport will be shortened to 15 minutes. So far, it can carry one passenger in addition to the pilot. A trip by an air taxi will cost around 300 euros. To be more profitable, the number of seats will be increased from the current two to six. Once regulations and air traffic control systems have adapted to larger autonomous vehicles, the pilot's seat will also be released. Against this background, the air taxi not only saves time, it is also more environmentally friendly than normal taxis.

Out of 150 applications, 31 companies from all over the world which are specialized in vehicle development, transport infrastructure and air operations will become part of the new ecosystem. Some of the participants are Volocopter (German), Airbus, Ehang (Chinese) and Pipistrel (Slovenian).

Ultimately, air taxis contribute to a new form of mobility in Europe. Due to this new innovation the mobility sector might boom in the next few years. Only the price could be an obstacle. If it remains this high, passengers probably stick to regular taxis or other given transport options.

More:

https://www.thelocal.fr/20210119/paris-to-test-its-first-flying-airport-taxis-this-summer/

https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Flying-taxis-could-be-in-the-Paris-skies-by-2024