The provincial capital Guangzhou launched a new “air taxi” service on Tuesday, which will see helicopters fly between Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai.
The service has been designed for business travel and cultural tourism, China Daily reports, with flight times of less than half an hour marking a “significant step” forward for the region’s emerging low-altitude economy.
In related news this week, a top executive at autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV)-maker EHang told CNBC that unmanned flying taxis would become a viable method of transport in China within the next three to five years.
[See more: Low-altitude tourism is taking off in China]
The Guangzhou-headquartered company’s vice president He Tianxing said that its AAVs would initially be used for tourism, with short designated routes in Guangzhou and Hefei, Anhui Province, up and running in June this year. Initial ride lengths would vary from between three and 10 minutes.
Another AAV company, Shanghai-headquartered Fengfei Aviation Technology, conducted a successful unmanned trial flight in its five-seater Shengshilong model between Shenzhen and Zhuhai last year. January 2024 saw the nation’s first passenger drone demonstration centre open in Shenzhen.
According to the CAAC, the market size of the low-altitude economy is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan (US$207 billion) this year and is estimated to touch 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. Guangdong Province, particularly Guangzhou’s Nansha district, is considered an important hub for the industry.
