Electric flying taxis with speeds of up to 150mph could soon be available to UK passengers, with plans to gain approval for commercial flights as early as 2028.
Vertical Aerospace is hoping its electric Valo aircraft, which will carry up to six people, can obtain the regulatory green light it needs to introduce the first commercial routes within three years.
The British company says the flying taxi has the potential to provide a service to passengers at “a similar cost” to hiring an Uber. Its plans are the latest in a succession of predictions that a revolution in air transport is just around the corner.
In March 2024, the government’s Future of Flight Action Plan suggested there could be pilotless flying taxi drones operating in the UK by 2030. And in 2023 New York mayor Eric Adams unveiled a plan to use electric air taxis by 2025/26 to fly people to and from the city’s airports.
It is hoped the Valo flying taxis are about to move the UK closer to that goal with airport to city centre connections.
Pic: Vertical Aerospace/PA
The vertical take-off aircraft will initially fly between London’s Canary Wharf and destinations including Gatwick, Heathrow, Cambridge, Oxford and Bicester, according to Vertical Aerospace.
The aircraft will be “clean, quiet and fast” and designed to fly up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 150mph, the company added.
Valo is expected to launch with a four-seat cabin, but its design allows expansion to six seats, which could help enable lower fares for passengers.
Pic: Vertical Aerospace/PA
Vertical Aerospace expects its aircraft will initially be a “premium product” used for airport transfers, before becoming “very affordable once production grows”.
“The aircraft is designed to be significantly cheaper than a helicopter, for instance, and to compete with ground transport,” a company spokesperson said.
“Where it starts to become affordable is, we’ve got a vehicle that can fly lots of times a day, can carry lots of passengers, needs very little maintenance, is very efficient to operate.
“Ultimately, the potential is for this aircraft to be a similar cost as hiring an Uber.”
Pic: Vertical Aerospace/PA
Vertical Aerospace chief executive Stuart Simpson said Valo “marks a new dawn in transport, one that will connect people in minutes, not hours” and “turns electric flight into a commercial reality”.
In October, Guangdong province in China confirmed plans to speed up construction of flight service stations and platforms.
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Chinese company EHang has been given approval to offer commercial passenger services in the province with its pilotless vertical take off low-altitude electric aircraft that can reach speeds of 130 kph (81 mph) and have a maximum range of 30 kilometers (19 miles).
