Study could bring air taxis to Paris in time for 2024 Olympic Games

A study could bring air-taxis to Paris in time for 2024 Olympic Games to beat surface level traffic jams. Airbus, Groupe ADP and the RATP Group, along with the Paris Ile-de-France region and the French civil aviation authority (DGAC), have announced the launch of a study to demonstrate an urban system of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

If the study is successful, organisers of the global event could ferry visitors from Charles de Gaulle airport straight to tournament sites, which are mostly based in the north of Paris.

The goal for all the firms involved in the collaborative study will be to integrate all working specialities and components into one. These include key areas like: design and production; maintenance; flight operations; low-altitude air traffic management; urban integration and planning; infrastructure, both physical and digital; and passenger interfaces. For Airbus, the objective is to establish best practices for the integration and operation of these new systems in a manner that is safe for users and the general public. Airbus is already present in the on-demand mobility sector, with its Voom service offering, based on the use of helicopters in urban areas, and it is developing the Vahana and CityAirbus VTOL vehicle demonstrators, which are 100% electric, with zero CO2 emissions. The RATP Group will focus on inter-mobility, urban insertion and acceptability issues in order to ensure that the flying autonomous vehicle is accessible to the greatest number of people while connecting with existing mobility services. 

Image: Airbus