Air taxi trial launched in Bangkok

Chinese urban air mobility (UAM) firm EHang has announced the first test run of its pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Bangkok, Thailand.

The test, which took place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in central Bangkok, marks the company’s first flight in the country after receiving regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).

The company is planning further flight tests of its EH216-S model on the islands of Phuket and Koh Samui by 2025.

“This demo flights marks significant progress in integrating urban air mobility (UAM) solutions into Thailand’s aviation industry,” said Suttipong Kongpool, Director, CAAT.

“EHang’s EH216-S is currently the world’s only eVTOL with airworthiness certificates, and we look forward to its commercial flight operations in certain areas of Thailand next year, which will serve as a significant contribution to Thailand’s UAM roadmap development plan.”

CAAT plans to open flight tests for certified eVTOLs across the country to “jointly promote the nation’s opening of low-altitude airspace and [the] air mobility market”.

“The debut passenger flight of our EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Thailand is a key milestone in EHang’s ongoing international development and that is a strong boost in promoting the transformation of global advanced urban air mobility,” said Conor Yang, CFO of EHang.

“We aim to apply our pilotless eVTOL products and solutions in the Southeast Asian market. In the future, with the strong support of the CAAT, we will cooperate with our local partners to formulate a model for regular UAM operations in Thailand, contributing to the development of the urban air mobility market in Southeast Asia and worldwide.”

Industry development

According to Morgan Stanley, the eVTOL market could be worth US$1 trillion by 2040 – but questions hang over the sector’s viability, particularly in Europe.

Last month German eVTOL firm Lilium was forced to file for insolvency after the German government denied it a guarantee on a €50 million loan.

Volocopter, another established German air taxi company, has also experienced difficulties.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese conglomerate Geely is in advanced talks to buy Volocopter for US$95 million in exchange for “roughly 85 percent ownership”.

Image: EHang