The sky is darkening for flying taxis. The commissioner responsible for leading a public inquiry into future “eVTOLs” (for “electric vertical take-off and landing”), which were to be one of the demonstrations of French know-how during the Paris Olympic Games (JO), gave an unfavorable opinion about them, as revealed The Parisian from February 8.
This is not the first time that flying taxis, machines with a look halfway between a large insect and a helicopter, have been singled out. Already in September 2023, the Environmental Authority had issued an unfavorable opinion on one of the three lines which were to be operated during the Olympics. At the time, the independent body had asked Groupe ADP, manager of the Paris airports of Orly, Roissy and Bourget, and operator of flying taxis, to review its copy. To explain its refusal, the Environmental Authority estimated ” incomplete “ the impact study of the Parisian vertiport, which was to be built on a barge floating on the Seine near the Austerlitz station. She judged eVTOLs to be too noisy and not sober enough.
In his report, completed on February 2, the investigating commissioner points more specifically to the project to set up a barge on the Seine to take off and land flying taxis. The objective pursued by Groupe ADP is to test the commercial potential of eVTOLs and achieve their certification. At the same time, and in partnership with the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), the airport manager also wants to test the interest of medical flights to replace those by helicopters or even trips by ambulances.
Single passenger
According to the investigating commissioner, this future vertiport would not be justified. He “considers that the gains potentially brought by the project do not justify the disadvantages which will be borne during the experiment”. In his report, he nevertheless admits that the medical flight project “presents an undeniable interest » by reducing noise pollution and the fuel consumption of helicopters and ambulances.
On the other hand, commercial flights find little favor in his eyes. According to him, they will not participate in a “traffic relief” nor will they offer “alternatives to current fashions” transport. It is true that future flying taxis will only carry one passenger at a time, in addition to the pilot. The report also points to “security risks”, even if it is not expected that the machines will fly over homes. The line which would leave from the Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport (Hauts-de-Seine) would take the route of the ring road, like helicopters today, before entering Paris intra muros, but only by flying over the Seine.
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