Volocopter conducts South Korea's first crewed public air taxi test flight

German urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer, Volocopter, has completed the first test flight with its 2X aircraft in Seoul, South Korea. It was the first ever crewed public test flight of a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi in South Korea. The Republic's Minister for Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MoLIT) Noh Hyeong Ouk, together with senior officials from Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea and German Embassy, witnessed the historical test flight, which marks a milestone in Volocopter's plan of introducing air taxis globally.

The 5-minute crewed test flight took place at Gimpo International Airport, covered a distance of approximately 3 kilometres, reached a maximum altitude of 50 metres and maximum speeds of 45 km/h. The test flight was part of the MOLIT's UAM demonstration event – 'Open the Urban Sky'.

Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter said, "With MOLIT's comprehensive K-UAM roadmap, South Korea is well positioned to achieve the goal of commercialising UAM by 2025. We are extremely honoured to conduct the nation's first crewed public eVTOL test flight today and prove yet again that the future of air taxis is here and now with Volocopter's aircraft. As the pioneers of the UAM industry, we look forward to working closely with friends and partners from both the government agencies and private sectors to make UAM a reality in South Korea."

EU Ambassador Maria Castillo Fernandez said, "2021 is a milestone year for the EU-South Korea relations, as it marks the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the free trade agreement between the two entities. We welcome continued collaborations in a wide range of sectors."

German Ambassador to South Korea Michael Reiffenstuel said, "South Korea and Germany have enjoyed a close relationship for more than a century. We are connected by a common experience of a divided nation and strong ties in trade, education, and technology. We strongly welcome deepened cooperation in new sectors such as digitalisation, e-commerce, and urban air mobility."

Seoul is the second city in Asia that Volocopter has conducted a test flight following the first successful public flight trial over Singapore's Marina Bay area in 2019.

Volocopter has been leading the pack in the UAM sector with a family of electrically powered aircraft that can transport passengers (the VoloCity and VoloConnect) and goods (the VoloDrone). It is the only eVTOL company that has obtained design and production organization approvals (DOA and POA) from European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Volocopter is scheduled to conduct a public test flight at Incheon airport on 16 November (weather permitting) during K-UAM Confex 2021, which will be attended by the President of Incheon International Airport Corporation and Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City.