2024 Olympics: but where have the flying taxis gone ?

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It was the flagship project that was supposed to make an impression during the Olympic Games. Electric vehicles with vertical takeoff, capable of transporting passengers above Parisian traffic jams. A concept worthy of science fiction, supported by Groupe ADP and the German start-up Volocopter.

But on August 8, barely 48 hours before the start of the Olympic festivities, the promoters of the project threw in the towel. The reason ? A simple story of paperwork, or more precisely, of certification.

The engines of these futuristic machines did not get the green light from the authorities in time. A “delay of a few weeks”which has put paid to the Olympic ambitions of the project. Edward Arkwright, executive general manager of Groupe ADP, speaks of a disappointment, while stressing that no compromise was possible in terms of security.

The dream flies away

This is not the first time that the project has encountered turbulence, recalls Libération. A few months ago, ambitions had already been revised downwards. The initial idea of ​​carrying paying passengers had to be abandoned due to the lack of certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Plan B? Demonstration flights without passengers, departing from a floating platform on the Seine, near Austerlitz. Even this fallback plan could not come to fruition.

Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter, points the finger at an American subcontractor. The engines had to be sent back across the Atlantic for additional checks. A fatal round trip that sealed the fate of the project for these Olympics.

The flying taxi project was already off to a bad start. The Paris city hall, for example, was fiercely opposed to it. For municipal officials, these machines represented an “ecological aberration”. A legal appeal had even been filed against the decree authorizing the creation of the Austerlitz heliport.

While the Council of State had initially ruled against the municipality, a decision on the merits is expected in the fall. A legal battle that illustrates the regulatory challenges facing these new transport technologies.

First flight at the end of the year?

Despite this false Olympic start, the promoters of the project are not giving up. They are now aiming for a first flight “by the end of the year”. Demonstrations with a prototype are planned at the Saint-Cyr-l’École aerodrome in Yvelines.

The operating authorization for the Austerlitz platform runs until December 31. A deadline that leaves room for maneuver to realize this ambitious project, even if it will be far from the Olympic spotlight.

The Volocity, the aircraft designed by Volocopter, is no toy. With its 18 rotors arranged in a crown above the cockpit, it embodies a futuristic vision of urban mobility. It remains to be seen whether this vision will be able to adapt to the constraints of the present. And there are many.

• The flying taxis did not take to the skies over Paris for the 2024 Olympics due to a delay in certifying the engines.
• The project has encountered many obstacles, including opposition from Paris City Hall.
• The developers are now aiming for a first flight by the end of the year, far from the Olympic spotlight.

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