Environment
Chinese eVTOL operator EHang nabs approval for paid commercial flight operations
EHang General Aviation has received regulatory approval for its EH216-S eVTOLs to begin commercial flights in China. Customers can now purchase a flight ticket to take low-altitude tours around two popular regions of China.
EHang Holdings Limited ($EH) is an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company working to deliver autonomous, eco-friendly intelligent aerial vehicles to all. The company’s lineup currently consists of passenger eVTOLs, logistics, delivery drones, and aerial media capable of performing choreographed light shows.
Back in the doldrums of 2020, we reported that EHang’s 216 autonomous eVTOL was being used to transport medical supplies across Hezhou, in China’s Guangxi province. That aerial vehicle could deliver payloads up to 140 kg (309 lbs), delivering a maximum range of 31 km (19 miles).
Following certification for its aircraft cloud system in August of 2023, EHang began celebrating full accreditation of the EH216-S eVTOL in China, with plans to take to the skies thereafter.
That fall, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Hefei’s municipal government which enabled two eVTOL “vertiports” at Luogang Central Park. Those facilities followed the construction of a similar, 5G-connected vertiport in Guangzhou, China in 2022.
Following flight certification, EHang has secured its next regulatory nod in China, which allows it to start commercial operations with paid customers. With that, the future of paid eVTOL rides is now amongst us.
EHang eVTOLs begin flights in Guangzhou and Hefei
EHang posted a release on its website detailing its latest milestone and providing plenty of flight images. According to the release, Guangdong EHang General Aviation Co., Ltd. and Hefei Heyi Aviation Co., Ltd. received the first batch of national manned civil unmanned aircraft operating certificates from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
The certificates enable EHang to begin commercial operations and offer paid eVTOL flights to interested customers, starting at operating points in Guangzhou and Hefei. First, the flights will be low-altitude tours and city sightseeing. Still, EHang expressed plans to “legally and compliantly gradually develop more scenarios such as urban commuting according to the operation situation.”
As the “world’s first ‘four certificate’ eVTOL operator,” EHang has achieved a tremendous milestone in China that could help pave the way for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) in the form of longer commuter flights at higher elevations. To do so, EHang said it will work alongside additional partners to expand commercial operation points and deploy more low-altitude traffic operation centers in Guangzhou, Hefei, and other regions across China.
What do you think? Would you be willing to fly in an EHang eVTOL around Guangzhou, or is the technology still too young?
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