Soaring over traffic

In 2024, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport announced a collaboration with Sarla Aviation, an emerging company specialising in electrically powered Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles. While full-scale operations may still be two to three years away, the partnership has sparked discussions about the future of urban mobility. 

eVTOLs offer a quieter, more cost-effective, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional helicopters. Globally, startups are developing this technology while regulators work to establish guidelines for vehicle design and operations.

For a growing economy like India, seizing this opportunity early is vital to realising the potential benefits of eVTOL technology. The country must address regulatory gaps with air traffic management and pilot training rules and develop a roadmap to support eVTOL technology and infrastructure for building a robust urban air mobility ecosystem.   

The concept of air taxis is not new. Helicopters have been serving this purpose for past seven decades due to their vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities. 

Cities such as Sao Paulo, Dubai, Los Angeles, New Mexico, Tokyo, and Seoul have explored helicopter-based taxi services with varying degrees of success. Sao Paulo, Brazil, in particular, has integrated helicopters into its urban mobility framework, creating a network of about 500 helicopters supported by 300 helipads, 10 maintenance centres, and a dedicated air traffic control system over the past three decades. 

Despite their advantages, helicoptres face significant barriers to widespread use as air taxis, including high operational costs, noise pollution, and stringent regulations. These drawbacks have limited their scalability.  

The development of eVTOL flying taxis began over a decade ago, spurred by advances in battery and drone technologies. These electric drones rely on multiple small rotors for propulsion, operating similarly to helicopters but with notable advantages. eVTOLs promise lower costs, reduced carbon emissions, and simpler maintenance costs, thanks to innovations in material science, aerodynamics, and electric propulsion.

Currently, the eVTOL technology remains in development and testing phases, with improvements in battery technology aimed increasing speed and range. Safety testing is also ongoing. Companies like Joby Aviation (US), Archer Aviation (US), Volocopter (Germany), Lilium (Germany), Vertical Aerospace (England), and EHang (China) are leading the charge.

Prototypes from Joby, Vertical Aerospace and EHang are already airborne while others plan to launch test flights from this year. Major aerospace players, including Airbus, Boeing (through its subsidiary Wisk), and Embraer, are also entering the market, with Airbus completing its first flight in 2024. 

The rise of eVOTL technology demands new governance structures distinct from conventional aviation. This includes rules for aircraft certification, urban operations, pilot training, and vertiport construction.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started drafting eVOTL regulations in 2022 and has joined an international network of aviation authorities including the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The FAA has also signed agreements with Japan and South Korea to collaborate on eVOTL certification and integration. Similarly, the European Commission adopted a regulatory package in 2024, allowing eVOTL operations to proceed once certifications are complete. 

Vertiports, tailored to eVOTL requirements will differ from heliports. Their size will depend on the largest eVTOL vehicle rather than helicopter rotor dimensions, and they will need specialised charging an fire suppression systems.  Cities like Dubai and Singapore have already tested eVOTLS, and Dubai is building vertiports in collaboration with Joby Aviation. 

India’s urban mobility challenges, exacerbated by rapid urbanisation and poor city planning, make eVOTLs a promising solution. Cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune ranked among the top 60 in TomTom’s Traffic Index 2023, suffer from chronic congestion. 

Indian startups like ePlane Co, Sarla Aviation and BluJ Aerospace are developing eVTOL prototypes, aiming for launches between 2025 and 2028. Airlines like Indigo are also exploring eVOTL operations, with plans to deploy an Archer Aviation fleet by 2026. 

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working on a regulatory framework for air taxis, including rules for vertiports and airworthiness certification. However, pilot training regulations and urban air traffic protocols remain pending.

To succeed, DGCA establish clear communication, navigation, and surveillance guidelines, as well as procedures for flight path clearance, time slot scheduling, and launch approvals. City planning authorities must plan smartly to establish the vertiports in already crowded Indian cities. 

With proactive measures from the DGCA and robust infrastructure planning, air taxis could become a viable and transformative solution for India’s urban mobility challenges.

(The writer is a research analyst at Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru)