NEOM, Volocopter successfully complete Saudi Arabia’s first air taxi test flight

The air taxi’s test campaign focused on flight performance in local climate and environmental conditions

June 21, 2023

Image credit: SPA

NEOM, and Volocopter announced the successful completion of a series of air taxi test flights. This marks the first time an electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft has received a special flight authorisation and performed test flights in Saudi Arabia.

The flight test campaign lasted over a week and was built on 18 months of collaboration between NEOM, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), and Volocopter, as per a statement released by the air mobility company.

The test campaign focused on the flight performance of the Volocopter aircraft in local climate and environmental conditions, as well as testing its integration into the local unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) system.

NEOM and #Volocopter have successfully completed a series of air taxi test flights, marking the first eVTOL flight in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ?

Learn more: https://t.co/ZZg7DSGvFG #NEOM @Volocopter pic.twitter.com/PtJJkTEMfk

— NEOM (@NEOM) June 21, 2023

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said, “The successful test flight of a Volocopter eVTOL is not just another milestone towards the creation of NEOM’s innovative, sustainable, multimodal transportation system – it is a tangible example of NEOM as a global accelerator and incubator of solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Driving the development of smart, sustainable, and safe mobility systems will improve livability and connectivity in cities around the world and reduce carbon emissions, creating a cleaner future for all.”

Air taxi – the future of mobility

The successful test flight builds on NEOM’s EUR175m investment in the technology and comes a year after the giga-project developer and Volocopter founded a joint venture to scale advanced air mobility. The partnership hopes to position NEOM as a hub for the future of transportation.

Watch: Volocopter test flight in Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz A Al-Duailej, president of GACA, Saudi Arabia said, “This safe and successful test flight represents an important milestone of the Saudi aviation sector and another steady step towards achieving the aviation sector’s strategy, through innovation and employing emerging technologies to create new industries that contribute to the output GDP and create more jobs. It also confirms GACA’s commitment to enabling the safe integration of innovative air transport patterns that improve the mobility experience of individuals in urban areas and the quality of life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Volocopter said it expects to obtain type certification of its VoloCity air taxi in 2024, enabling future commercial operations. Volocopter recently announced the commencement of VoloCity serial production at its facilities in Bruchsal, Germany, with a capacity to deliver more than 50 aircraft a year under one-shift conditions.

Christian Bauer, chief commercial officer of Volocopter, said, “It is beyond exciting to see our work from the past 18 months come to fruition. As the first eVTOL aircraft to ever test in Saudi Arabia, we are proud to have lain the groundwork for our future collaboration here in NEOM.”

Volocopter eVTOLs will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, generated by solar and wind energy sources.

They can be used in a variety of roles, including as air taxis and emergency response vehicles, and are quieter, and cheaper to operate than helicopters.

They have a smaller on-ground infrastructure footprint, fewer operating restrictions, and employ smart and autonomous capabilities.

#FlightTesting continues: We’re working on opening the flight envelope for our commercial VoloCity aircraft. Join us in our car as we push the max. speed limit in a remotely piloted configuration. #Volocopter #AirTaxi #BTS #UAM pic.twitter.com/oGfG22CPBy

— Volocopter (@volocopter) April 14, 2023