The landing site will float on the Seine near the Austerlitz train station in southeastern Paris.
Paris, France:
The French government on Tuesday gave the green light to the construction of a floating landing platform on the Seine River for flying taxis to be showcased during the Paris Olympics.
An official decree said the path “can be used until December 31, 2024” after months of tension over whether the taxis would take to the air during the July 26-August 11 Games.
The landing site will float on the Seine near the Austerlitz train station in southeastern Paris.
Flights will be limited to two per hour, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and no more than 900 during the entire trial period “given the experimental nature” of the vehicles, the decree said.
Private companies involved in the flying taxi project include Paris airport operator ADP and Germany-based Volocopter.
The “Volocity” two-seaters are equipped with 18 electrically driven rotors on a circular frame above the fuselage.
They hope to use the global appeal of the Olympics to demonstrate that the technology can efficiently connect take-off and landing sites.
While four vertiports – vertical take-off and landing vehicle airports – have already been set up on the outskirts of Paris, including one at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the Austerlitz site will be the first in the city itself.
Supporters tout flying taxis as a low-carbon form of aviation and hope future larger versions could be used as ambulances or in other roles.
But many city officials in Paris have derided the plans as damaging to the environment.
France’s national environmental authority ruled that an impact assessment for the landing pad was “incomplete” on issues such as noise, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The taxis are also not certified by the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), meaning operators can only offer free demonstration flights during the Games.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
