Passenger Terminal Today - Hazel King
Airport operator Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), investment company Atlantia, vertiport designer UrbanV and eVTOL manufacturer Volocopter have successfully completed the first crewed eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) test flights in Italian airspace as part of a mobility ecosystem setup at Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport.
According to the companies, this is a key milestone toward the envisioned rollout of advanced air mobility (AAM) services in Rome by 2024, with the partners having initiated operations of the first fully functional vertiport in Italy.
Volocopter’s test pilot aboard the electric Volocopter 2X flew 40km/h for five minutes at a height of 40m along a ‘figure 8’ flight path in front of onlookers after attaining all the necessary clearances from the Italian authorities, the civil aviation authority (ENAC) and the provider of air traffic control services, whose role stays central in shaping the future AAM ecosystem.
