Volocopter announced its commitment today to launch air taxi services in Singapore after two years of close collaboration with the city. Working together with the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). Volocopter plans to make air taxi services a reality in the Southeast Asian city-state within the next three years. This puts Singapore in pole position to launch Urban Air Mobility in Asia.
In October 2019, Volocopter completed the historic air taxi demonstration flight in the heart of Singapore over the Marina Bay area, giving observers the unique opportunity to have a sense of what UAM will look like. Before launching the services in Singapore, Volocopter will obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, including those from CAAS and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. To achieve this, Volocopter will be conducting comprehensive tests, flight trials, evaluations, and certification before approval to commence commercial air taxi operations can be granted.
Florian Reuter, CEO, Volocopter, said, “Singapore is renowned for its leading role in adapting and living new technologies. Our successful cooperation with EDB, MOT, and CAAS on our previous flight has shown that there is no better place in Asia to launch our electric air taxi services than in Singapore. The city’s research institutes conducting R&D play an integral part in this. Topics like route validation for autonomous operations, material science, and research regarding battery technology are very important for our long-term business success.”
The first route is expected to be a touristic route over the southern waters, offering breath-taking views of the Marina Bay skyline. Follow-on connections may include cross-border flights, which may enhance regional connectivity and offer a significantly improved travel experience to Singapore’s closest economic centres.
Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Vice President, EDB, said, “Urban Air Mobility is an emerging area within the broader mobility sector, which we have identified as a growth industry for Singapore. Singapore is an important regional testbed for autonomous cars, electric vehicles, and Urban Air Mobility, including the successful test flight by Volocopter in 2019. We are glad that Volocopter has chosen Singapore to anchor its commercial and R&D activities. This will help build new capabilities for our mobility ecosystem and create many exciting opportunities for Singapore.”
Tan Kah Han, Senior Director (Unmanned Systems Group), CAAS, said, “In this new area of Urban Air Mobility, we look forward to continue working with Volocopter. This gives us the opportunity to co-create regulations and technologies with the industry, facilitating innovation to enable a future mode of transportation for Singapore.”
Volocopter Air Taxis are emission-free aircraft that take-off and land vertically. They are designed as an addition to urban mobility and will fly up to two passengers directly and quietly to their destination and offer a whole new dimension to the quality of life in cities.
