Last week, Germany-based eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle manufacturer Volocopter completed South Korea’s first crewed air taxi flight. The two-seater eVTOL, 2X, launched from Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, traversing 1.8 miles (2.9 km) in 5 minutes at an altitude of 164 feet (50m). The company took to the skies once again yesterday, successfully conducting another crewed test flight in front of hundreds of spectators during K-UAM Confex 2021, this time from Incheon International Airport in Seoul. The 2X eVTOLs will be put into service in the city by 2025. The vehicles will travel between the city’s airports and Seoul city center, reducing a 1-hour journey to 20 minutes.
Zoom Out: The test flight made Seoul the second city in Asia where Volocopter has conducted a test flight, with the first one in Singapore’s Marina Bay area in 2019. In September, Chinese auto company Geely entered into a joint venture with Volocopter, ordering 150 Volocopter eVTOLs to develop urban air mobility in China. Volocopter also previously announced a cooperation agreement between Urban Movement Labs to explore the future of urban mobility in Los Angeles.
