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:

Volocopter is accelerating plans to launch the world's first routine urban air taxi network in Paris by summer 2024, aiming to coincide with the 2024 Olympic Games.
The service will utilize VoloCity eVTOLs for three public transit and two tourism routes, connecting key locations via five new vertiports, including one on the Seine River.
Volocopter expects its VoloCity eVTOL to receive EASA certification by early 2024 and has completed its production facility, positioning Paris ahead of American competitors in deploying commercial eVTOL operations.

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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.