Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Will we be hailing taxis from the sky by 2025?

Flying cars sound like something out of a science fiction film, but money is pouring into the development of human-sized drones and cargo-carrying airships. Will flying taxis soon be stopping outside our doors?

There are few things more frustrating than being stuck in a traffic jam. Just five minutes of standstill during rush hour can get you dreaming of flying cars like the ones from the 1960s cartoon 'The Jetsons'. But could these cars soon be a reality?

Flying car technology


Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft or eV-TOL, as their name suggests, lift off the ground, hover and land vertically. They are ecologically friendly as they are all-electric and built to produce no direct carbon dioxide emissions.

According to IBA, a company that provides aviation data and analytics for aviation finance and airlines, the market for these aircraft is expected to rise to over 21 billion euros by 2035. It's a figure keeping investors with their eyes in the sky.

More than 50 firms are currently developing several prototype aircraft with the capacity to transport up to 20 passengers. One such company is the Turkish start-up AirCar.

Self-driving taxis


Since it was founded in 2017, AirCar has been looking for ways out of the traffic gridlock. Based in Turkey’s version of Silicon Valley, AirCar is partnered with the country’s largest software maker. Instead of waiting for governments to slowly build bigger roads and better public transportation, the company has set its sights higher. Its ultimate goal is to have a network of flying taxis that are entirely electric-powered and self-driving.

An AirCar prototype


After conducting more than a thousand small-scale trials, testing on a full-sized prototype began this year. AirCar’s CEO, Eray Altunbozar, says the company expects to start carrying passengers by early 2025. But there are still barriers to overcome. One of these is the size of today's public transport.

The challenges


As Dr. Andreas Bardenhagen, a professor at the Technical University of Berlin, explains, if you compare the number of passengers a train or a bus can transport to a modern-day helicopter, it's much less. If you want to transport hundreds of people in flying taxis, for example, "you’ll get a very crowded air space". Dr. Bardenhagen is not sure whether the public will accept this.

Another complication is the national and international regulations regarding things that fly. Phil Seymour is the president of IBA. He says that all "the countries around the world have regulators that follow strict manufacturing design guidelines." To him, this ensures that there is a safety and regulation network in place. However, it could slow down plans for a mainstream flying taxi service.

A sustainable option


Despite these difficulties, AirCar wants to be an industry disruptor and it is willing to take the road less travelled to build a new flying future. To its CEO, Altunbozar, this project is also about sustainable technologies, an industry he worked in previously. It was working on current technologies like lithium-ion batteries, composites, drone technologies and AI that he realised it was possible to get into the flying car business.

The promise of heli-cars is to transport humans over shorter distances, but what about bigger deliveries? The French company, Flying Whales, says its huge blimp-like airships cannot only transport 60-tonne payloads over long distances, but it can do so sustainably.

An airship made by Flying Whales


Its CEO, Sebastien Bougon, even says that the company could revolutionise the healthcare industry. According to him, this is possible using large capacity airships to deliver hospitals to remote areas or islands. Once the hospitals have helped the people for the time they need, they can then be moved to other remote areas so that they can get the same quality healthcare as big cities.

Flying cars and new modes of air transport are no longer a fantasy. Billions of euros are already fuelling dozens of start-ups worldwide. But will it remain a novelty for the rich or can it truly transform how we all travel? Only one thing is for sure, a change is in the air.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
China Criticizes US for Vetoing UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza
Saudi Arabia ranks first in UN index for e-government services in MENA
Israel Records 20% Drop In GDP, War In Gaza Is The Reason
Saudi Arabia's FDI Inflows Grow with New International Standards
Venture Capitals Power Up Across MENA Region
PM Modi Announces Opening Of New CBSE Office In Dubai
January Funding for MENA Startups Totals $86.5 Million
Saudi Arabia accelerates digital economy growth through Nvidia partnership
Israel unveils tunnels underneath Gaza City headquarters of UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Israel deploys new military AI in Gaza war
Egypt threatens to suspend key peace treaty if Israel pushes into Gaza border town, officials say
Saudi Arabia Warns Of A "Humanitarian Catastrophe" If Israel Moves On Rafah
US University To Shut Qatar Campus Due To "Heightened Mideast Instability"
Facebook and Instagram Ban Iran's Supreme Leader
Defense Technology Showcase Held in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rise 2.5% to $6bn in November 2023: GASTAT
Rolls-Royce Executive Encourages Saudi Women to Tap into Their Inner 'Superhero' for Success in Defense Industry
Saudi Arabia launches National Academy of Vehicles and Cars
Saudi Tourism Minister Reveals Plan for 250,000 New Hotel Rooms by 2030
SAR to more than double eastern network passenger capacity with new trains deal
Saudi Arabia Enhances National Defense with New Partnerships
Saudi Aramco Maintains Arab Light Crude Pricing to Asia for March
NEOM Establishes New York Office to Support Investors
Saudi Wealth Fund Draws in Over $25 Billion Worth of Investments in Three Years, Al-Rumayyan Reveals
The Saudi Kingdom's Ultimatum to Israel: A Win-Win Peace with Saudi Arabia and the Arab World, or a Lose-Lose Continued Occupation and Endless Conflict
Biden condemns anti-Arab hate after WSJ opinion piece calls Dearborn ‘jihad capital’
Turkey Releases Seven Hostages Captured by Pro-Gaza Gunman
Arab Parliament Commends Women's Contributions to Societal Development
British and Hungarian Foreign Ministers visited Lebanese leaders to stress the importance of enacting UN Resolution 1701
Yemen's Houthis Say They Targeted British Merchant Vessel In Red Sea
Donald Trump Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for 'Historic' Middle East Policy
US lawmakers approve F-16 jet sale to Turkey following NATO expansion support
Saudi Arabia Climbs 25 Places in World Bank's National Statistics Indicator
Tourism Growth in Saudi Arabia Fuels Advancements in the Hospitality Industry," Says Rotana Official
Houthi Rebels Request Departure of UN Staff from Yemen, Including US and UK Personnel, within a Month
Modi Inaugurates Hindu Temple on Site of Demolished Mosque in India
Over 25,000 Deaths in Gaza Amid Israeli Offensive
Escalating Clashes in Gaza as Israel Distributes Leaflets to Assist in Locating Hostages
Turkey's First Astronaut Set to Launch for International Space Station Today
Head of Palestinian Investment Fund Warns More People May Die of Hunger Than War in Gaza
Palestinian Envoy Criticizes UK for Alleged 'Double Standards' in Policies Toward Israel
Morocco to Lead UN Human Rights Council in 2024
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Egypt has been identified as the leading military force among Arab nations and ranks 15th globally
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Iranian Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Receives Additional Prison Sentence
"Gazans Urge Israeli Forces to Target Hamas in Leaked Audio"
Biden States US and UK Airstrikes on Houthis Were a 'Defensive Action
Large Pro-Palestine Rally in London as Gaza Conflict Hits Day 100
South Africa Urges World Court to Halt Israeli Actions in Gaza
×