Thu 22 June 2023:
In Neom, Saudi Arabia, test flights for air taxis were completed successfully, it was announced on Wednesday.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft has never before been granted a special flight authorization or conducted test flights.
The flight test campaign lasted over a week and built on 18 months of collaboration between Neom, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), and Volocopter.
Nadhmi Al Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said: “The successful test flight of a Volocopter eVTOL is not just another milestone towards the creation of Neom’s innovative, sustainable, multimodal transportation system – it is a tangible example of Neom as a global accelerator and incubator of solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Driving the development of smart, sustainable, and safe mobility systems will improve livability and connectivity in cities around the world and reduce carbon emissions, creating a cleaner future for all.”
The test campaign focused on the flight performance of the Volocopter aircraft in local climate and environmental conditions, as well as testing its integration into the local unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) system.
Air taxi – the future of mobility
The successful test flight builds on NEOM’s EUR175m investment in the technology and comes a year after the giga-project developer and Volocopter founded a joint venture to scale advanced air mobility. The partnership hopes to position NEOM as a hub for the future of transportation.
NEOM and #Volocopter have successfully completed a series of air taxi test flights, marking the first eVTOL flight in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 💫
Learn more: https://t.co/ZZg7DSGvFG#NEOM @Volocopter pic.twitter.com/PtJJkTEMfk
— NEOM (@NEOM) June 21, 2023
Volocopter eVTOLs will be key to Neom’s smart and sustainable multimodal mobility system, which will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, generated by solar and wind energy sources. They will be used in a variety of roles, including as air taxis and emergency response vehicles, and are quieter, more easily adaptable, and cheaper to operate than the helicopters often employed today. They have smaller on-ground infrastructure footprint, fewer operating restrictions, and employ smart and autonomous capabilities that ensure both safety and sustained relevance in future contexts.
The test flight announcement builds on Neom’s 175 million euro investment and joint venture with Volocopter.
Volocopter said it expects to obtain type certification of its VoloCity air taxi in 2024, enabling future commercial operations. Volocopter recently announced the commencement of VoloCity serial production at its facilities in Bruchsal, Germany, with a capacity to deliver more than 50 aircraft a year under one-shift conditions.
Christian Bauer, chief commercial officer of Volocopter, said, “It is beyond exciting to see our work from the past 18 months come to fruition. As the first eVTOL aircraft to ever test in Saudi Arabia, we are proud to have lain the groundwork for our future collaboration here in NEOM.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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