volocopter set to test its full-scale electric air taxis in paris, june 2021

as early as june 2021, volocopter‘s air taxis will be taking to the skies of northwest paris in a series of operational tests. the announcement comes from paris region, groupe ADP and RATP groupe, who have partnered to bring forward a new mode of transport. the ‘volocity’ electric helicopters intend to be operational in time for the 2024 olympic and paralympic games in paris, making the city a world leader in urban air mobility.

image courtesy of volocopter

volocity will be tested at pontoise airfield, located 35 km northwest of paris. in the first half of 2021, necessary arrangements will be made, first on the airside, then on the boarding areas inside the buildings (suitable parking areas, electrical recharging systems, and ground markings). in cooperation with DGAC (civil aviation authority), parking, take-off and landing operations, as well as operations around the vehicle, whether maintenance or electrical recharging, will be tested in a real aeronautical environment in june 2021.

image courtesy of group ADP

‘the structuring and development of an air mobility branch on the airfield of pontoise – cormeilles-en-vexin is both consistent with the recovery plan initiated by paris region, and in line with the key takeaways of paris region recent cop 2020 conference. it also falls within the scope and priorities of the 2024 olympic and paralympic games. as a result, this event represents an invaluable opportunity to involve the entire aviation industry and demonstrate the unique qualities of paris region as an area of reference within the global urban air mobility market,’ says valérie pécresse, president of paris region.

image courtesy of group ADP

additionally, in order to construct an ecosystem of large groups, SMEs, start-ups, laboratories, and universities in the paris region over the long term, a worldwide call for expressions of interest has been launched with the support of the choose paris region agency. applications will open on october 1 until november 13, 2020, on the website here. the selected projects will be announced on december 18 2020.

image courtesy of group ADP

florian reuter, CEO of volocopter, says, ‘we are incredibly excited to be the eVTOL manufacturer of choice in the paris region’s urban air mobility project. we will open our first commercial air taxi routes in the next 2-3 years and are excited to have a potential launching partner here in europe.’

video courtesy of volocopter

‘the structuring of an urban air mobility industry around the vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is vital for the attractiveness of paris region. the growth of this industry will contribute to the development of environmentally friendly industrial solutions and offer paris region a unique mix of urban multimodal transportation systems. choose paris region will lead the call for interest by capitalizing on its technological expertise and international network to identify french and international companies which will be involved in the launch of this cutting-edge sector,’ says franck margain, president of choose paris region.

image courtesy of volocopter

‘today, we aim at exploring and enabling the development of all potential futures of a decarbonized and innovative aviation. urban air mobility, driven by an all-electric vehicle capable of a vertical takeoff and landing, will be able to take-off and accelerate its development through the establishment of a sandbox at our pontoise airfield, a unique testing opportunity in europe. in partnership with paris region and RATP group, and in the framework of an international call for expression of interest, we are strongly positioned to federate a unique ecosystem in paris region, by combining our infrastructures assets, our know-how and expertise in terms of mobility and our territorial anchoring.’ noted edward arkwright, deputy CEO of groupe ADP.

image courtesy of volocopter

according to catherine guillouard, chairwoman and CEO of RATP group, ‘after a first major partnership with airbus, it is only natural that RATP group pursues its ambitions in the air taxi sector towards a new phase, accelerating the rollout of the urban air mobility industry branch. for RATP group, this new mobility actively complements our traditional transport modes. by inaugurating this trial area and launching this call for expressions of interest at an international scale alongside groupe ADP and with the support of the île-de-france region, we intend to be a privileged partner of the smart cities of tomorrow and make good use of our human and technical expertise’.