A pilotless air taxi has made its debut flight over a major city.
The electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), produced by Chinese tech company EHang, carries two passengers.
The unmanned EH216-S vehicle debuted in Thailand at the Drone Exhibition & Symposium 2024.
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The expo, held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, ended on Saturday (9 Nov).
EHang is working in cooperation with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) to radically change how residents and tourists travel between the country’s bustling cities and island resorts.
They carried out passenger flights over Bangkok with CAAT’s Demonstration Flight Permit.
EHang has received three airworthiness certificates from the Aviation Authority for its pilotless eVTOL.
Two passengers to take part in the flights were Phasu Manipanti, CEO of Sky Image Tech, and Sorasit Thongjeen of Bangkok Airways.
With no need for runways, the EH216-S can perform city-to-city flights and carry two passengers, helping to ease Thailand’s chronic traffic problems.
EHang CFO, Conor Yang, said: “The debut passenger flights of our EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Thailand is a key milestone in EHang’s ongoing international development.”
He said it is also “a strong boost in promoting the transformation of global advanced urban air mobility”.
CAAT director Suttipong Kongpool stated: “EHang’s EH216-S is currently the world’s only eVTOL with airworthiness certificates.
“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.”
EHang and CAAT plan to continue tests ahead of launching commercial operations next year, as reported by What’s The Jam.
They are particularly targeting popular holiday destinations such as Koh Samui and Phuket.
The eVTOLs, which can fly autonomously, cost around £321,756 ($410,000).
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