Paris 2024 Olympics Set to Feature eVTOL Air Taxi Service

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is on track to have eVTOLs functioning to provide air taxi services.

Solène Le Bris of Paris airports operator Groupe ADP outlined plans to have five vertiports where passengers can board the aircraft. The first vertiport in Cergy-Pontoise opened in November and is now being utilized as a training hub.

“We are going to make it happen,” Le Bris said at Amsterdam Drone Week. “We are trying to launch the first eVTOL ( electric vertical takeoff and landing) pre-commercial service in the world: that’s our ambition.”

The eVTOLs, which will be known as VoloCity air taxis, will be able to carry one passenger and a pilot. Two routes have also been mapped out, with the first starting from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and initially flying to Le Bourget before carrying on to Austerlitz Paris. The second route will be from Paris to Sans-Cyr.

Thierry Allain, head of innovation at the Direction General de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC) regulator, said obtaining certification for the VoloCity air taxis will be one of the key hurdles to clear right now.

“For the regulation issues, the challenges we have are not that big,” he said. “Of course, the burden of regulation applies to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency – they have to certify the VoloCity and the operator with regulation that is being built right now.”

Romain Erny, head of aerospace and mobility at Choose Paris Region, is keen to see the public’s response to the electric aircraft and admitted that it will play a pivotal role in deciding whether the service will continue to be offered, including at the Paralympics.

“The second step is the Olympics and Paralympics,” he said. “The main lesson is to see how the people react to these new (types) of services. For most of the citizens in Paris, (eVTOLs) are still science fiction! They need to touch it, to be inside the vehicle, and we need their feedback. The Olympics are the start.”

In addition to transporting passengers, the eVTOL aircraft could also be used for medical purposes in complementing the role of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) helicopters.

“We are also looking at the use of e-VTOL for medical purposes, with Paris hospitals,” Le Brin confirmed. “Emergency doctors say if you reach the site one minute earlier in a heart attack you increase the chances of survival by 10%.”

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