The Environmental Authority (AE) has deemed the impact study of the future experimental flying taxi base planned on the Seine in Austerlitz for the Paris-2024 Olympic Games “incomplete”, citing in particular its acoustic consequences.
In an opinion delivered Friday on this emblematic file carried by Groupe ADP, the AE called on the manager of Ile-de-France airports to “reconsider the scope of the project and that of the analysis of its effects to fully appreciate the consequences on the populations affected and the possible impact on the natural environment.
ADP wants to take advantage of the Olympics to operate electric flying taxis
ADP, with its partners the German manufacturer Volocopter and the Ile-de-France region, wants to take advantage of the showcase of the Olympic Games to circulate electric flying taxis on an experimental basis on three lines: from Paris-Roissy airport to Le Bourget airport , and from the heliport of Issy-les-Moulineaux on the one hand towards the aerodrome of Saint-Cyr-l’Ecole, near Versailles, and on the other hand towards a barge on the Seine near the quay of ‘Austerlitz, in the south-east of Paris.
To minimize nuisance, this link will fly over the Seine to the east as far as Porte de Bercy, then set off again to the west above the ring road. But the AE considered that “the impact study, focused on a few aspects, was incomplete by choice of the contracting authority, which limits the scope of its analysis to the sole operation of implementing the platform on the river “.
The challenges of the project are “acoustic”
For the authority, the challenges of the project are both “acoustic”, linked to “energy consumption and (to) greenhouse gas emissions”, without forgetting “visual pollution due to the proliferation of aircraft in an area previously prohibited from overflight. “The project also presents security and safety issues for the populations being flown over,” she notes.
Groupe ADP took note of this opinion and promised to “respond to all of the observations in the coming month”. In a statement sent to AFP on Friday evening, the manager also noted that “a public inquiry will take place on this experimental project in November-December 2023”.
The “VoloCity” machines, which look like large insects, crowned, for their two-seater models, with 18 rotors, are four times less noisy than helicopters, assures Volocopter. If ADP assured last June that these machines would be “there” for the Olympics, their manufacturer is currently trying to obtain European certification which will allow them to fly and is hoping for a green light from the European Aviation Safety Agency ( EASA) in spring 2024.