Paris at the time of Fifth element ? About thirty industrialists and institutions will carry out tests in real conditions for future flying taxis in Ile-de-France, from the end of winter at an airport in Val-d’Oise, announced this Thursday the promoters of this project.
“We are going to create the first European vertiport here”, enthusiastically said Augustin de Romanet, CEO of Groupe ADP, manager of Ile-de-France airports, by participating in the inauguration of this area installed at Pontoise-Cormeilles-en airport. -Vexin, 35 km north-west of Paris. “This inauguration kicks off the first experiments in real conditions on electric vehicles with vertical takeoff and landing” (eVTOL, their acronym), according to a joint press release from ADP, the Ile-de-France Region and of the RATP.
Pontoise airport for take-off runway
The transport company will provide the project with its laboratory analyzing noise and vibrations, explained its CEO, Catherine Guillouard. Even much quieter than helicopters, “it is very important that these new vehicles and their operation are acceptable to the population”. The first eVTOL tested will be that of the German company Volocopter, but other start-ups such as Vertical Aerospace, Ascendance and Lilium are participating in the project, as are Airbus and Thales.
Pontoise airport was chosen because it is “complete, with a 1,600-meter runway, a fire station, a control tower”, remarked Edward Arkwright, number 2 of ADP: “We want to test all of them. the components of the system ”during these operations which will start“ at the end of February, beginning of March ”.
Twice the cost of a VTC
There is also the question of the “social acceptability” of these devices, recognized Catherine Guillouard, who hopes to see flying taxis transporting “a few thousand passengers every day” at the end of the decade. The objective is to limit the cost of a race to “twice the price of a VTC”, or a hundred euros, according to her. Subject to certification, the project participants would like to set up two experimental lines, showcases of their know-how, during the 2024 Olympic Games: Issy-les-Moulineaux – Saint-Cyr (Yvelines) heliport, and Roissy- Le Bourget-Paris.
“These are not gimmicks that will be tested here. These are technologies that are going to change the aeronautics industry ”, enthusiastic Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, welcoming projects that make mobility hitherto“ imaginary ”seen in projects become“ reality ”. movies like Back to the future.