SINGAPORE - Volocopter, an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) company, announced its commitment 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.
In October 2019, Volocopter completed its 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.
"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," says Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. "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 an improved travel experience to Singapore's closest economic centers.
