"Flying Taxi": Italy and France find a solution to traffic jams
Airports in Rome, Venice and Bologna, as well as on the French Riviera, have announced that they have set up a company to build infrastructure for flying taxis, which should provide better transport links between cities and alleviate traffic congestion. writes Reuters.
The new company Urban Blue merged the Italian airports Aeroporti di Roma from the infrastructure group Atlantia, Aeroporto di Venezia, Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna and the French airport Aeroport de la Côte d'Azur.
According to them, their plan is to start a business with flying taxis in Rome, Venice and Nice by 2024. The statement did not provide financial details about the project.
Rome is the third most suitable city in Europe for the development of air mobility
The infrastructure is designed for "veriports", special types of aircraft that take off vertically and then redirect the engines to a horizontal position and fly like airplanes.
"Vertiports" will function as electric air taxis that will offer customers a new way of traveling, bypassing traffic jams and easier intercity transport, writes Reuters.
"Urban Blue is planning a 'risky but feasible time frame, which will allow Rome to be among the first cities in Europe to provide this type of transport link,'" said Rome Airport CEO Marco Troncone.
The Italian capital is the third most suitable city in Europe for the development of urban air mobility, according to a study by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Open for cooperation with other countries
According to the statement, Urban Blue will be open to cooperation with other industrial, technological and financial partners with which it would gradually expand the project to Italy, France and other countries.
They add that they will join the German flying taxi company Volokopter, with the support of the investment fund EDF Invest, a shareholder in Aeroport de la Côte d'Azur.