Paris dreams: Electric flying taxi routes possible for 2024 Olympics

France will start testing electric air taxis in the coming months at a location outside Paris with the aim of having two dedicated flight paths to ferry passengers at the 2024 summer Olympics.

According to Aeroports de Paris, one route will link Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Le Bourget airports while the other will connect two suburbs at the southwest of the capital city. Earlier this year, the Pontoise-Cormeilles-en-Vexin hub was used tested as landing and takeoff zones.

Aircraft developers such as Volocopter GmbH, Airbus SE, Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd, Lilium NV and Joby Aviation along with France’s civil aviation authority will participate in the project. Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, are rapidly emerging as a new transport market as developers are raising millions of dollars to develop their projects of flying electric taxis. Britain’s Vertical Aerospace and Germany's Volocopter are among the European companies that are competing for orders alongside Lilium.

This move is another addition to the planned projects around the world that are focusing on developing and promoting this mode of mobility in the cities. Infrastructure firm Urban-Air Port and Hyundai Motor Co are also jointly developing flying taxis hubs across the UK, the US and Australia. It is aiming to open its first site in Coventry in England early next year.

An earlier report also shared that Rome is also gearing up to welcome flying taxis in the next two years. People can avail the facility as the country aims to start its first operation from the Flumicino airport in Rome in 2024. Volocopter will be providing the flying taxis for this and one can also take a ride to the city centre as well if the airport authority agrees.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)