London is now just an arm’s length away from flying taxis

In a few years’ time, flying taxis will be able to meet passengers at London Heathrow airport. While infrastructure issues remain uncertain, a number of test flights are being carried out. An air taxi service at London Heathrow Airport could be launched in a few years’ time, following an agreement with Vertical Aerospace Group to roll out the service. However, the airport is still conducting a number of studies on the infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges is to ensure that the vehicles are well integrated into the existing system and that they work well with other services and authorities.

Vertical has undertaken to produce 1,350 four-passenger, single-pilot VA-X4 electric flying taxis at a cost of around $5.4 billion. The company says the taxis are quieter, cleaner and cheaper than helicopters. The first test flight is planned for next year, but production will not start until 2024. Airbus announced in September that it will start developing a new electric urban air transport vehicle with a range of 80 kilometres and a cruising speed of 120 km/h, capable of carrying four people.