Skydrive, Toyota’s flying car prototype (photo: playback / skydrive)
Imagine taking a taxi that swings in the air instead of traveling through the streets. Well, this scene, which is typical of science fiction films, is close to becoming a reality – at least in Europe. On Wednesday (19/5), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) reported that electric taxis were likely to be issued for takeoff between 2024 and 2025.
Patrick Q, the executive director of the regulator, said in an online program that vertical vehicles could be used commercially to transport goods before passengers and that autonomous, i.e. unmanned drones, would take at least five years.
As Bloomberg reported, EASA, in a coordinated approach with the United States Federal Aviation Administration and other international regulators, began working with companies focused on how to handle unmanned flights.
“With autonomous passenger transport, it is easier to start with air taxi vehicles, because we are looking at smaller scale aircraft,” Q said. With companies, we did not go very far, because you have to think a lot about how you want to deal with the concepts of autonomy. “
The agency also presented the results of a survey on urban air mobility, involving the participation of 4 thousand people in six European cities. The vast majority (exactly 83%) received news of “flying models” with enthusiasm, especially in medical and emergency transportation.
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