Announced at the 2019 Paris Air Show, the Paris flying taxi project is beginning to take shape with the forthcoming establishment of a full-scale test area at the Pontoise - Cormeilles-en-Vexin airfield. The three parties involved in this initiative - the Île-de-France Region, the ADP Group and RATP - intend to structure an urban air mobility sector around the vertical take-off vehicle. All with the 2024 Olympic Games still on the horizon.
" This event is an exceptional opportunity to mobilise the aeronautics industry, raise the profile of the Paris Region and position it as one of the world's leading aerospace regions. a benchmark region in the global urban air mobility market "said Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Region, at the presentation. " This new form of mobility is profoundly complementary to our traditional modes of transport. "says Catherine Guillouard, CEO of the RATP group.
Contributing to this ambition, Volocopter will be the first manufacturer to test its VoloCity vertical take-off electric vehicle in the Paris region. " We are delighted to be the eVTOL manufacturer of choice for the Urban Air Mobility project in the Paris region.said Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter, which can rely on experience of successful flights in Dubai, Singapore and Helsinki. This player should be joined by others, as an international call for expressions of interest has been launched to develop an entire ecosystem around this new form of mobility. Major groups, SMEs, start-ups, laboratories and universities, manufacturers, equipment suppliers, vertiport designers, intermodal solution providers: all are called upon to combine their energies to bring this futuristic project to life.
Located 35 km north of Paris, in a suburban area, the Pontoise - Cormeilles-en-Vexin aerodrome will be developed in the first half of 2021 before parking, take-off and landing operations can begin. tested in real-life situations from June 2021with the support of the European Aviation Safety Agency and Eurocontrol. " With the establishment of a test area on our Pontoise aerodrome, the first of its kind in Europe, urban air mobility, with the vertical take-off electric vehicle, will now be able to accelerate its development.said Edward Arkwright, Chief Executive Officer of ADP Group. We want to explore and make possible the development of all the futures of low-carbon, innovative aviation. "
