Volocopter Tests eVTOL ‘Air Taxi’ At Versailles

German start-up Volocopter has completed a series of pre-commercial test flights in the area around Paris with its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) “air taxi” as it progresses toward its goal of obtaining a type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for passenger flights.

The company had originally hoped to fly passengers in its 18-rotor vehicles along five routes in and around Paris during the Olympic Games, including to and from a vertiport floating in the Seine near Austerlitz station, but EASA certification was not achieved in time.

Instead Volocopter carried out the piloted test flights beginning last week at the Saint-Cyr-l’École airfield, the first customised commercial vertiport for eVTOL vehicles, about 25 kilometres from the French capital.

The final test flight was achieved on Sunday, the last day of the Games, at Versailles Palace, the site of the first hot-air balloon flight in 1783.

Versailles flight

“We achieved our objective to fly in Ile-de-France during this exceptional summer,” said Edward Arkwright, deputy chief executive of French airport operator Groupe ADP, which is collaborating with Volocopter to test and validate its prototypes.

“We also met the goal to deliver the first vertiport network, with the launch of the one in Saint-Cyr L’Ecole, which completes our network in Ile-de-France (alongside Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Le Bourget, Paris-Issy les Moulineaux, Pontoise).”

The initial flights were carried out without passengers, but following certification the organisations plan to test emergency medical flights with Ile-de-France University Hospital Centre, Arkwright said.

Volocopter chief executive Dirk Hoke said the company hopes to construct its veriport on the Seine later this year and to conduct flights to and from the site in time for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in December.

Autonomous air taxis

“Beyond that, we concentrate on the Type Certification of the VoloCity and will start the test phase of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Germany together with our partner ADAC Luftrettung in 2025,” he said.

Volcopter’s two-seater aircraft currently use pilots, but ultimately the firm plans for flights to be autonomous, enabling both seats to be filled by passengers.

The vehicle runs far more quietly than a conventional helicopter and its Lithium-ion battery packs give it a flight range of about 35 kilometres.

The company and competitors have now refocused on potentially running air taxis at the next Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.