Photo: Volocopter
Italy’s first flying taxi trialled at Rome airport
10 October 2022
by Christopher Carey
German urban air firm Volocopter has completed its first manned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) test flight in Italian airspace.
The flight launched from a vertiport built at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport during a two-day event to demonstrate what a potential service between the airport and the city of Rome would look like.
The five-minute test flight – which was operated by a pilot but did not carry any passengers – saw the air taxi fly at speeds of up to 40 km/h at a height of 40 metres.
“[This] represents a significant milestone in our path as pioneers in testing and implementing advanced air mobility in Italy, and in playing our part in making urban transport increasingly sustainable and seamless,” said Marco Troncone, CEO, Rome Fiumicino Airport.
“The opening of the first vertiport in Italy and the first crewed eVTOL flight represent a remarkable step towards the activation of the first advanced air mobility routes between Fiumicino airport and Rome city centre by the end of 2024, ahead of the Jubilee, to offer our contribution to our city and our institutions in welcoming the international tourist flows with a ground-breaking, innovative service.”
Volocopter says the air taxi will initially be able to carry two people – one of whom will be the pilot – although the firm envisages the craft being autonomous over time.
The craft will be able to travel at a maximum speed of 110 km/h and has a range of 35 kilometres.
It is estimated that a trip from Rome’s central rail station – where the air taxi terminal could be located – to Fiumicino airport would take around 20 minutes, compared with as much as an hour by road.
On the horizon?
Volocopter says the service could be up and running in 2024 – but the project is still waiting for final authorisation from the Italian and European authorities.
“We’ve come from a signed partnership agreement and event series kickoff to a flight test at an operational airport in a little less than a year, said Christian Bauer, Volocopter’s Chief Commercial Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer.
Studies by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility estimate that urban air mobility in Europe – including R&D, vehicle manufacturing, operations and infrastructure construction – could be worth €4.2 billion (US$4.07 billion) and create or sustain approximately 90,000 jobs by 2030 (excluding manufacturing jobs).
Image: Volocopter
