For sightseers in China, pilotless ‘flying taxi' rides are on the horizon
For sightseers in China, pilotless 'flying taxi' rides are on the horizon
— Sixteen propeller blades in sets of two whir, growing faster and louder. Then, the 'air taxi' lifts off.
It rises vertically off the ground, one gutsy passenger strapped in, as a throng of journalists watches on.
He is alone in the two-seater cabin, several storeys high, with no pilot in sight.
This scene, seemingly out of the future, takes place very much in the present, on a recent Tuesday in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.
It is a sight that EHang, the company behind the autonomous 'flying taxi', hopes will become more commonplace in China, and around the world.
'In the future, we want to provide such a means of transport that is as normalised as cars,' EHang's vice-president He Tianxing told visiting reporters at the company's Guangzhou headquarters on June 10.
That future, for now, is still years away.
But the leading Chinese maker of autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) - or drones as they are more commonly known - which transport goods among other uses , is moving closer towards the commercial use of its drones to carry people, with a big milestone on the horizon.
In the cities of Guangzhou and Hefei, the capital of central Anhui province, people will soon be able to buy tickets to sightsee on EHang's flying vehicles , in what could be a world first.
An Ehang subsidiary in Guangzhou and its joint venture company in Hefei in late March received China's first certificates to operate paid services carrying people in the two cities.
They are now trialing rides in these locations, allowing staff members and invited guests to have a go on the flying vehicle - also described as an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft - Ehang says .
Thereafter, they plan to open ticket sales to the public.
One of the routes will bring people to take in river views from above a wharf in Guangzhou while another will fly over a park in Hefei . These flights, EHang says , are to travel in a loop in a pre-set path for an average of five to eight minutes, leaving from and returning to the same spot.
The operators have yet to reveal how much tickets will cost or announce a firm date when public sales will begin.
The model of eVTOL that has been green-lit for the commercial services, the EH216-S, retails for 2.39 million yuan (S$425,949) on the e-commerce platform Taobao. It has a maximum range of 30 km and a maximum speed of 130 km per hour.
The upcoming start of commercial 'human-carrying' drone services in China comes as the country is ramping up the development of its 'low-altitude economy'. This refers to economic activity taking place in airspace less than 1,000m above ground level, below the 9,000m at which commercial planes typically cruise.
This emerging industry is a policy priority that has been written into the government's annual work plan since 2024. Already, drones are being put to work in some parts of the world's second-largest economy, delivering food and other goods to consumers, and spraying pesticides across croplands.
The commercial sightseeing flights, Mr He tells The Straits Times, are a 'rehearsal' for the wider use of drones as a means of transport.
But more infrastructure, he says , is still needed before eVTOLs can serve as air taxis that transport people from one point to another. These include take-off and landing sites, charging stations and parking terminals.
For their part, cities in China are stepping up their construction of infrastructure for the low-altitude economy.
In Shenzhen, one of six pilot cities for its development, officials plan to have 174 landing sites for eVTOLs and helicopters by 2026.
A number of Chinese automakers have also branched into the business of flying cars. They include XPeng, GAC Group, Geely and Hongqi.
Mr He said he expects to see some Chinese cities 'which have the necessary conditions' gradually piloting the use of eVTOLs for flights carrying people from point to point in the next two to three years.
Apart from the Chinese market, EHang has also set its sights on having its passenger drones fly overseas.
The company is developing markets in Asia, Europe and South America, Mr He says , and has 'achieved very positive results' in Japan, Thailand, Spain and the Middle East.
EHang Vice President He Tianxing speaks to reporters at the company's headquarters in Guangzhou on June 10.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM
In Thailand, where EHang carried out demonstration flights in November 2024 with passengers on board, the company 'plans to launch commercial trial operations in (regulatory) sandbox areas opened up by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand this year', he said .
The company's partners in Thailand, he added , are working with the Thai authorities and conducting preliminary surveys of routes and operation sites in the resort island of Phuket.
EHang is not the only company with plans for its passenger drones to fly commercially abroad. Joby Aviation, for instance, an American maker of air taxis, aims to start commercial services in Dubai by early 2026.
Volocopter, a German company, had earlier announced plans to provide air taxi services carrying people over Singapore's Marina Bay and during the Paris Olympics in 2024, but these did not materialise. The company in December 2024 filed for insolvency, and has since been acquired by a subsidiary of a Chinese company.
As firms move towards the commercial adoption of passenger eVTOLs, another hurdle they may have to contend with is whether consumers will put their faith in the novel technology.
'I'm so scared,' said American livestreamer Darren Jason Watkins Jr repeatedly when he test - rode one of EHang's drones earlier in 2025. 'Please pray for my safety,' he said .
The online personality better known as IShowSpeed uploaded to YouTube a video of his experience in which he is also seen being reassured of the drone's safety, including through back-up systems that kick in should there be any breakdown.
Asked how he would convince people that passenger drones were safe, Mr He told reporters : '(We) welcome you to take a ride -- make sure to ride a few times.'
Nikkei reporter Itsuro Fujino said that his ride on EHang's passenger drone felt stable throughout.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM
He also noted that EHang's eVTOL had received three airworthiness certificates from the Chinese authorities , and highlighted the need for more publicity around the merits of unmanned aerial transport .
At Ehang's Guangzhou eVTOL terminal, the drone carrying the one brave passenger landed after a brief spin of about two minutes.
Emerging from beneath its gull-wing doors was Nikkei reporter Itsuro Fujino, slightly sweaty. Unprompted, a staff member offered a tissue. A fellow journalist wondered aloud if it was the heat (of more than 30 deg C), or just nerves.
What was the experience like, his fellow reporters watching wanted to know.
'It felt stable throughout … there was no scary feeling,' said Mr Fujino, of his maiden ride in an eVTOL.
'It was like riding in a car,' he added.
Joyce ZK Lim is The Straits Times' China correspondent, based in Shenzhen.
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