The race to bring flying taxis to the world’s major cities
It’s the stuff of science fiction: a city of gleaming skyscrapers, with futuristic aircraft gliding airily to and fro across the skyline. This is no galaxy far, far away, however, but London in two years’ time – according to a paper published by the Department of Transport. In the Future of Flight action plan, it revealed that the city’s first flying taxis could take off as early as 2026, with autonomous air cabs to follow in 2030.
“Cutting-edge battery technology will revolutionise transport as we know it – this plan will make sure we have the infrastructure and regulation in place to make it a reality,” said Anthony Browne, the Minister for Aviation and Technology. “From flying taxis to emergency service drones, we’re making sure the UK is at the forefront of this dramatic shift in transportation, improving people’s lives and boosting the economy.”
London isn’t the only major city to be exploring the possibilities of taking to the skies with eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles – the race is on to be the first place to do just that. Last month, Dubai announced its intention to launch the world’s first electric air taxi service in 2026, while New York has set an even more ambitious target of 2025. Both are working with Californian company Joby Aviation, which carried out its first urban test flight at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in November 2023.
Despite this, it’s another country that appears to be leading the pack: last year, the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) gave its approval to an eVTOL taxi made by EHang, a tech company based in Guangdong province. An £80 million deal has already been struck with the city of Hefei to provide 100 craft for tourist flights and the emergency services. Meanwhile, companies looking to launch their services in London are still waiting for the green light from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
What exactly are eVTOLs?
Around 150 firms are busy developing eVTOLs at the moment; each design differs from the next, but for the most part they look like futuristic helicopters. As the name suggests, they’re battery-powered, so have been touted as a much greener alternative to combustion-powered forms of transport (although whether they are truly eco-friendly seems to be a point of contention). They’re also supposedly a lot quieter: California-based eVTOL-manufacturer Archer Aviation, for instance, claims its aircraft, when in flight, will produce significantly less noise than a car passing by at 30mph.
These vehicles can take off and land vertically, which is advantageous in an urban environment. Not that they will be able to set down in a supermarket parking bay: infrastructure will either have to be built or repurposed, meaning there could be a proliferation of small aerodromes or “vertiports” popping up in major cities.
This throws up its own set of challenges: how many need to be built, how will the space be found to build them, and how will customers get to and from the landing pads? Will they be able to walk, or will they have to hail an Uber?
“While space is at a premium in London, there are existing aerodromes in and around the capital that can be adapted to support electric flight,” says Will Nathan of Vertical Aerospace, a British eVTOL manufacturer based in Bristol.
“There are companies exploring the potential for rooftops in London to be adapted to enable a convenient network of routes. It will also include adapting existing aerodromes, such as Heathrow or Manchester, as well as the development of new bespoke ‘vertiports’, which will be designed for this specific aircraft. Skyports, a UK-based vertiport developer, recently announced it plans to build such a facility in Bicester, Oxfordshire,” says Nathan.
How expensive will they be?
Could catching an air taxi be as cheap and simple as booking an Uber in the near future? Some eVTOL companies are promising fares as low as $3 (£2.40) per mile, although a study by NASA has estimated that up to $11 (£9) per mile might be a more realistic proposition. It sounds pretty affordable, but with manufacturing costs at around £1 million per aircraft, can it really be viable?
For Nathan, the likelihood is that eVTOL travel will be pitched at the wealthy, if only in the short term. “Our intention is for these electric aircraft to become a modern and iconic method of transport all over the world,” he says. “As with all new technologies where demand is high and supply limited, like with the first smartphones or electric cars, we expect fares initially to be at the premium end, but we fully expect prices to drop as supply increases.
“The operating costs of these aircraft are also significantly lower than a conventional plane or helicopter and over time we expect eVTOLs to compete with traditional forms of ground transport such as trains and taxis.”
That is assuming, of course, that they can earn the public’s trust. The inherent issue with air travel is that when things go wrong, they often go catastrophically wrong, and while eVTOLs are overloaded with failsafes to prevent such a disaster (some companies promise two emergency backups to every component), travellers may prefer to stick with cars and trains for the time being.
By 2030, though, the picture could be very different. Approval from the CAA would surely provide a huge boost for consumer confidence in eVTOL travel and, as long as providers are able to run their services free of incident, there’s no reason why flying taxis couldn’t take to the skies over London – and across the world – in the very near future.
