According to a government plan, the first flying taxi might operate in the UK as early as 2026, embracing technology that was once confined to the realm of sci-fi.
The Department of Transportation’s (DoT) Future of Flight Action Plan includes the recommendations. Within the next six years, autonomous flying taxis might also become a reality according to the recommendations.
The roadmap calls for implementing technology that, by 2030, may increase the nation’s GDP by £45 billion.
Anthony Browne, the minister of aviation and technology, claimed that the proposals will transform transport.
This plan will ensure that we have the infrastructure and regulations in place to make it a reality. Cutting-edge battery technology will revolutionise transportation as we know it, he declared.
We’re ensuring sure the UK is at the forefront of this significant change in transport, enhancing people’s lives and stimulating the economy, with anything from flying taxis to drones providing emergency services.
The plans would also let drones to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), allowing the industry to expand without restricting other aircraft’s ability to fly in the sky.
By describing how smaller aerodromes can function as vertiports for electric aircraft that take off vertically (often referred to as electric vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL aircraft), they also want to revitalise smaller aerodromes.
The plans look at methods to include communities and local authorities so they can benefit from the potential economic and social benefits, as well as how to strengthen drone security standards to increase public safety.
The action plan was unveiled just before Mr. Browne was scheduled to visit Bristol’s Vertical Aerospace, one of the UK businesses producing flying taxis that is presently awaiting authorization from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Government and business working together, we can unleash the huge economic, environmental, and social benefits of zero emissions flight globally, stated Vertical Aerospace founder and CEO Stephen Fitzpatrick.
Aviation stands on the cusp of its next, potentially biggest, revolution since the invention of the jet engine, stated Sophie O’Sullivan, head of future safety and innovation at the CAA.
eVTOL, drones, and other novel vehicles have the power to completely alter the landscape of transportation choices.
Encouraging technological advancements and offering regulatory support will be our roles in this bright future of aviation, while making sure that all new aviation technology enjoys the same high safety standards as traditional aviation.
The ideas seek to expand on the ways that drone technology is currently being used, such as how West Midlands Police is using it to combat violent crime and antisocial behaviour.
Drones were able to locate two criminals and an additional suspect in July 2023 at a speed and distance that would have taken hours for land police to locate.
Drone service provider Skyfarer has teamed up with Medical Logistics UK and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in the NHS to test drone delivery of surgical implants and pathology samples between sites, potentially saving up to 70% on delivery times.
