空飛ぶタクシー、仏パリで来年６月にも試験飛行　２４年五輪控え

【コルメイユアンベクサンＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスの首都パリで早ければ来年6月にも「空飛ぶタクシー」の試験飛行が始まると、関係者が明らかにした。同市は2024年のパリ五輪で多くの観光客の流入を見込んでいる。（写真は空飛ぶタクシー「ボロシティー」。仏ポントワーズコルメイユの飛行場で）
　イルドフランス地域圏とパリの空港を運営するＡＤＰグループ、パリ交通公団の共同声明によると、試験飛行は、パリから北西へ車で約１時間半の場所に位置するポントワーズコルメイユ飛行場で行われるという。
　試験飛行に選ばれたのは、ドローンに似ていて完全電動の垂直離着陸（ＶＴＯＬ）機「ボロシティー」。ドイツのボロコプター社が製造している。
　共同声明は、空飛ぶタクシーが新たな交通手段として期待されており、２０２４年の五輪開催はパリがアーバンエアモビリティー（都市航空交通）の世界市場の先駆者となるチャンスを与えるとしている。
　試験飛行の可否は、住民の承諾と安全規則、航空交通規制によるという。
　また、来年の前半にはパーキングエリアや充電スポット、地上の標識の手配が進むという。
　ボロシティーには１８の回転翼とバッテリーパック９個が搭載されており、１機あたり２人が搭乗可能で、手荷物を含めた最大積載量は２００キロとなっている。
　ボロコプター社はすでに世界各地で試験飛行を実施。昨年１０月には初の都市中心部での試験飛行をシンガポールで行った。
　他方でボーイングやエアバスなど航空機器大手、トヨタ自動車や現代（ヒュンダイ）自動車などの企業も同様のプロジェクトに取り組んでいる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/10/02-10:06）

Flying taxis will start taking off from an aerodrome north of Paris as soon as next June, operators said, in a trial ahead of a vast tourist influx for the 2024 Olympics.
The experiment will take place at the Pontoise-Cormeilles-en-Vexin aerodrome some 90 minutes northwest of the capital by car, according to a joint announcement by the Ile-de-France region, airports operator Groupe ADP and the RATP public transport agency.
A drone-like, fully-electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (VTOL) dubbed VoloCity, produced by German company Volocopter, was chosen for the innovative trial with flying taxis in a peri-urban area, they said.
The partners said in a statement they had decided to bring together all the conditions to make the emergence of this new mode of transport possible to complement the existing modes, whether for the public or for goods.
Furthermore, the prospect of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games provides an exceptional opportunity to involve an entire industry in order to make Paris Region a leader in the global market of urban air mobility.
The experiment will depend on the approval of residents, security protocols and air traffic regulations, said the companies.
In the first half of 2021, arrangements will be made for parking areas, recharging stations and ground markings for the demonstration.
Working with aviation safety agencies, the partners said parking, takeoff and landing operations as well as operations around the vehicle, whether maintenance or electrical recharging, will be tested in a real aeronautical environment in June 2021.
VoloCity is equipped with 18 rotors and nine battery packs. Each can carry two passengers with hand luggage, for a maximum payload of 200 kilogrammes (440 pounds).
- 2030 rollout -
It flies at 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour, at an altitude of 400 to 500 metres (1,312-1,640 feet), with a range of 35 kilometres (22 miles).
Volocopter executive Fabien Nestmann said the craft's makers hoped for full certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency within two to three years.
We want a demo for the 2024 Olympic Games, Valerie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region, added at the launch news conference.
But it could take a decade for the project to be rolled out at scale.
The day that you can buy a ticket (for a flying taxi) on the internet and take one, is more towards 2030, RATP CEO Catherine Guillouard told journalists.
In the long term, we will be able to integrate mini take-off and landing zones into the urban fabric, which will require (public) acceptance, and the issue of noise will be key, she added.
In the quest to limit traffic pollution and ease congestion, the idea of flying taxis has taken route worldwide.
Volocopter has already tested its airborne taxi in different parts of the world, and last October chose Singapore for the first test in the heart of a city.
Several other companies are working on similar projects, including Boeing, Airbus, Toyota and Hyundai.
Earlier this month, Japanese firm SkyDrive showed its eight-propeller, manned compact vehicle flying around a test field.