Volocopter Targets Commercial Launch in Paris for Summer 2024

Launch timeline positions the German company as the first eVTOL manufacturer to begin routine flights.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 05:03 PM ET

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A digital rendering depicts Volocopter’s VoloCity model zipping past the Eiffel Tower in Paris. [Courtesy: Volocopter]

Key Takeaways:

German company Volocopter plans to launch the world's first routine urban air taxi service in Paris by summer 2024, in time for the Olympic Games, potentially outpacing American rivals.
The plan involves establishing five vertiports in Paris to operate VoloCity eVTOLs on three public transit and two tourism routes, backed by agreements with Groupe ADP and French authorities.
Volocopter is on track for European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification of its VoloCity aircraft by early 2024 and has a production facility ready to build 50 aircraft per year.
Beyond Paris, Volocopter is also pursuing 2024 air taxi launches in Singapore, Rome, and Neom (Saudi Arabia), and recently secured an order for VoloCity aircraft for medical rescue research.

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Did France just pull a coup d’état on the air taxi race?

American electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturers Joby and Archer Aviation have long planned commercial launches by 2025. But at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday, German rival Volocopter reinforced its agreement with Groupe ADP, an international airport operator based in Paris, and the French Civil Aviation Authority and Paris Region (DGAC) to establish an air taxi network in Paris by next summer.