Volocopter wants to launch the world's first air taxi service in Paris in 2024

The world's first air taxi service could start operating next year. If everything goes according to plan, it will appear in the French capital.

Here's What We Know

German company Volocopter continues to work on removing the obstacles that stand in the way of launching a flying taxi service in Paris. The startup wants to start transporting passengers through the air using electric aircraft with vertical take-off and landing in time for the Olympic Games (July 26, 2024).

Volocopter will take part in the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget this week. The event is primarily dedicated to military hardware, but the German company has decided to take the opportunity to showcase its progress in developing an eVTOL air taxi.

Although many companies dream of launching an air taxi service, so far none of them have been able to obtain certification. Volocopter has a chance of being the first to achieve the goal, but in order to do so, it has yet to conduct weather trials of air taxis (scheduled for July 2023) and prepare thousands of pages of documents for regulatory bodies, including the EU Aviation Safety Agency.

Despite high hopes for the eVTOL segment, funding in this area has dwindled. Investment in projects in the first half of 2023 has fallen from $1.2bn to $710m compared to the same period in 2022, according to consultancy firm McKinsey.

Source: Reuters