Volocopter Sets Its Sights on Olympic Games: Paris to Offer eVTOL Services in Summer 2024

Volocopter, Group ADP Announce Paris to be First City to Offer eVTOL Services in Summer 2024, “All Indicators Green,” says Groupe ADP.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

This week at the International Paris Air Show, urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer Volocopter and Groupe ADP, alongside the French Civil Aviation Authority and Paris Region, emphasized that Paris will be the first European city to offer electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) services in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The services will be available to the general public as an addition to the existing public transportation system of Paris Region.

Volocopter is currently the only eVTOL company on track to achieve certification in 2024 from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Electric air taxis undergo the same strict safety certification process as airliners and create safety through redundant aircraft features tested in over 1,500 test flights. Operations in Paris will start with five vertiports, gradually growing to cover all of the Paris region over the course of the next decade. The two-seater VoloCity aircraft will fly at heights below 500 m and will not be audible from ground level in urban environments.

Vertiport construction will begin during the summer, and be in full swing by the end of 2024. The development schedule of the five vertiports in Paris will allow for commercial launch in summer 2024. Paris Region will provide strong support for a special vertiport located on the Austerlitz barge on the Seine river. An environmental impact study was submitted to the Environmental Authority this month, to be followed by a public acceptance survey in the second half of 2023. These will form the basis for starting construction of the vertiport early next year. Each vertiport will have passenger terminals, with 1 to 3 takeoff and landing spots, and will leverage the learnings from the Pontoise testbed. Over 1,000 visitors have watched dozens of flights and other tests conducted in Pontoise over the past 18 months.

Volocopter is also working with air rescue operator ADAC Luftrettung to deploy eVTOLs for emergency medical services. The ADAC Luftrettung feasibility study and opportunities for the use of eVTOLS for rapid emergency care have garnered interest from the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, who have partnered with Groupe ADP to explore the deployment of ADAC Luftrettung’s concept for multicopter operations in EMS in the Paris region.

Volocopter’s fully battery-powered eVTOLs produce zero-emissions, and were found by a week-long test campaign to be so quiet that they will go unheard against the Paris city soundscape. Volocopter’s aircraft are four times quieter than helicopters while in flight.

The general public will be able to book flights for the summer of 2024. Subscribers to the Volocopter channels will be the first to learn about booking opportunities, which will be revealed in the second half of 2023.

“The 2023 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, the cradle of aviation pioneers, will be the turning point in the takeoff of new electric air mobility: the transition from dream to reality. All the indicators are green for a successful summer 2024,” said Edward Arkwright, Groupe ADP Deputy CEO. “The challenges ahead are huge, but they are a great source of pride for all those involved in the project, with whom we share the conviction that carbon-free air travel also brings new services.”

“We are counting down the days to making electric air taxis a reality,” said Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke. “Together with our French partners, we will take command in decarbonizing aviation, slowly but surely. Paris Air Show 2023 is the ultimate opportunity to show thousands of people the benefits of electric air taxis daily.”

Read more:

• Volocopter Partners with ADAC Luftrettung: Customizing eVTOL for Emergency Medical Services
• Volocopter Continues Development Towards Type Certification with Integration of Swiss-AS MRO Software
• Volocopter, SITA Partner to Create Urban Air Mobility Infrastructure
• Volocopter Funding: $182 Million in Second Signing Series E
• Volocopter Opens First VoloCity Exhibition: Air Taxis of the Future

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.