Air cab: Volocity flights over Paris canceled

A Volocity was supposed to take off in Paris this Thursday. But nothing will come of it.

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Computer graphics with a Volocity and the Eiffel Tower

This computer graphic continues to symbolize a pipe dream.

(Image: Volocopter)

2 min. read
This article was originally published in German and has been automatically translated.

After a long back and forth, Volocopter was due to fly its Volocity air cab over Paris this Thursday. Now the German manufacturer and its partner, airport operator ADP, have canceled the flights. According to the AFP news agency, ADP vice-president Edward Arkwright said that the approval for the Volocity had been delayed. Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke explained that a US supplier had not delivered the motors on time.

Volocopter had announced test flights yesterday, Wednesday, including to a so-called Vertiport on the Seine near Austerlitz station. They were intended for demonstration purposes and were to take place without passengers. Volocopter and ADP had previously advertised that Volocity flights would take place under real conditions for the first time during the Olympic Games in Paris. Most recently, there was talk of two demonstration flights per hour between 8 am and 5 pm. EASA has still not issued a type certificate for this.

The Volocity model, which has a large ring with 18 rotors on the roof, fits one person in addition to the pilot. The air cabs are supposed to fly at an altitude of less than 500 meters. They are intended to help avoid traffic jams. The high costs that are expected for the flights are repeatedly criticized. In the Paris City Council, there was talk of an "absurdity for the super-rich".

The French Council of State recently rejected two applications against a temporary take-off and landing site for air cabs in the center of Paris. The city of Paris and several organizations had questioned the legality of the order for the operation.

(anw)