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Flying taxis could launch in just two years under new drones plan

Home> Vehicles

Published 13:41 18 Mar 2024 GMT

Flying taxis could launch in just two years under new drones plan

Flying taxis could soon be seen in the UK with the aid of new Government drone plans.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

New Government plans mean that people in the UK could be taking drone taxi flights in the next two years.

While that might sound far-fetched, it's all laid out as a possibility in the Department for Transport's Future of Flight Action Plan, which was released this week.

The plan sketches out the possibility that the UK could allow the first piloted drone taxis in the next two years, with unmanned flights taking a bit longer - potentially coming in 2030.

Eoneren / Getty
Eoneren / Getty

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This means that the sort of flying taxis that are famously portrayed in science fiction movies like The Fifth Element and Blade Runner could finally be real.

It's clear that this roadmap from the UK government is not a guarantee of timelines or plans, but rather is a sort of blueprint for what could happen.

Aviation and Technology Minister Anthony Browne said: "Cutting-edge battery technology will revolutionize transport as we know it - this plan will make sure we have the infrastructure and regulation in place to make it a reality.

"From flying taxis to emergency service drones, we're making sure the UK is at the forefront of this dramatic shift in transportation, improving people's lives and boosting the economy."

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One of the key changes that will be part of the plan would involve flying drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) - this is exactly what it sounds like. Right now you can't fly a drone outside of your line of sight - if you start to rely entirely on its cameras and cannot see it in the air, you're breaking the rules.

onurdongel / Getty
onurdongel / Getty

There seems to be some positive buzz in the industry about the proposals, too - Sophie O’Sullivan, Head of Future Safety & Innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: "Aviation stands on the cusp of its next, potentially biggest, revolution since the invention of the jet engine. Drones, eVTOL, and other different vehicles have the potential to change transportation options forever."

Those are big words, but it's fair to say that the chance of flying taxis with no pilots, ferrying people from airports into inner city locations, does indeed feel like a pretty revolutionary possibility.

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Still, there's a long way to go - with many tests doubtless planned and trials to conduct. After all, right now we don't even know what one of these taxis would look like, or cost, so it might be a little premature to start banking on the idea of air taxis being around in the very near future.

Featured Image Credit: Kirill Rudenko/Anton Petrus/ Getty
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