Air taxi developer Volocopter has received German government approval to begin serial production of its VoloCity aircraft.
The company said on 29 February that the German federal aviation office, or Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA), granted Volocopter a production organsiation approval (POA) extension, which applies to two production and hangar facilities in the company’s hometown of Bruchsal, Germany.
The company is now “the world’s first and only” electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer to hold both a POA and design organisation approval (DOA), the company says,
Volocopter received DOA from European regulator EASA in 2019, followed by the initial POA in 2021 when it acquired glider manufacturer DG Flugzeugbau.
“This is a major milestone for us,” Volocopter chief operating officer Andreas Fehring says. “Aircraft design and production are strongly regulated for a good reason: to produce safe mobility products. I am pleased that Volocopter’s production facility has the trust of and stamp of approval from LBA to manufacture commercial aircraft that can be delivered to customers once the VoloCity receives type certification.”
The company says the extension is an “industry first” and will allow it to design and produce VoloCity in-house autonomously. It says it has begun the “pre-serial production stage of manufacturing”.
Last November, Volocopter along with US company Joby Aviaiton, both considered frontrunners in the race to launch passenger air taxi operations, flew their aircraft in New York City for the first time.
Volocopter’s 2X prototype had flown previously in Singapore and at the 2023 National Business Aviation Association show in Las Vegas.
The company expects its two-seat, piloted VoloCity air taxi to be type certificated in Europe in the coming months, likely allowing it to be one of the world’s first to begin regular commercial air taxi operations. Volocopter has said it is targeting a launch of the service at this year’s Paris Olympics, in July.
