At the International Paris Air Show, Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM) and Groupe ADP, alongside the French Civil Aviation Authority and Paris region, stressed that Paris will be the first European city – and likely the first city in the world – to offer electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) services in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The services will be available to the general public as an addition to the existing public transportation system of Paris Region.
Urban air mobility is a new form of sustainable aviation that will provide regions and cities with an additional form of transportation. Groupe ADP and Volocopter have collaborated to bring UAM to Paris, conducting flight tests with new electric air taxis, or eVTOLs at the Pontoise testbed, and bringing all regulators and stakeholders together since 2020.
Volocopter based in Germany, has more than 10 years of electric aircraft development experience and is currently the only eVTOL company on track to achieve certification in 2024 from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Electric air taxis are certified to the same strict safety standards as airliners and create safety through redundant aircraft features that have been tested in over 1,500 test flights.
The partners will start with three connection routes and two tourist round trip flights, with several aircraft.
Connection routes:
• Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport <> Paris-Le Bourget airport; integrating successfully into the skies of Europe’s busiest airport
• Vertiport of Austerlitz barge <> Paris Heliport, integrating a connection over the densely populated urban area of Paris
• Paris Heliport <> Airfield of Saint-Cyr-l’École (Versailles); validating the route potential for tourism use cases
Tourist round trip flights will be offered from:
• Paris Heliport
• Paris Le Bourget
(Source and image: Volocopter – Artist’s view of Volocopter eVTOL taxi flying over Paris)