The first crewed eVTOL test flight has been completed in Italian airspace, following a project led by Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), Atlantia, UrbanV, and Volocopter.

These tests were part of a mobility ecosystem setup at Fiumicino’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport.

This is a key milestone toward the envisioned rollout of advanced air mobility (AAM) services in Rome by 2024, with the partners having initiated operations of the first fully functional vertiport in Italy.

The test comes one year after the first eVTOL prototype was showcased in Italy.

AAM services between Fiumicino and Rome

In the last twelve months, significant progress has been made on flight technology, vertiport design, and the regulations necessary to enable the first AAM services between Fiumicino Airport and the city of Rome planned to take to the skies by 2024.

Volocopter’s test pilot aboard the electric Volocopter 2X flew 40 km/h for 5 minutes at 40 metres height along a “figure 8” flight path in front of onlookers after attaining all the necessary clearances from the Italian authorities, the civil aviation authority (Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile – ENAC), and the provider of air traffic control services (Ente Nazionale Assistenza al Volo – ENAV).

Volocopter’s electric air taxi is designed for quick and emission-free passenger flights in urban environments over congested roads and waterways.
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