A flying taxi model presented by the company Volocopter in April 2019 in Singapore. ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP
The experimentation project of flying taxis on the Seine is far from unanimous. After the recently expressed reservations by the French Environmental Authority, Parisian officials have firmly spoken out against it on Tuesday, November 14.
“There is nothing in this project (…) a completely useless and hyper-polluting gadget for a few privileged people in a hurry,” denounced Dan Lert, assistant to the ecological transition.
The Aéroports de Paris (ADP) group, along with its partners, the German manufacturer Volocopter and the Ile-de-France region, want to take advantage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to experimentally operate electric flying taxis on three air routes, one of which connects the heliport of Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine) to a barge on the Seine near the Austerlitz station. The objective is officially to “experiment with a new mobility offering in very dense urban areas”.
In early September, the French Environmental Authority had however deemed the impact study for the future experimental base of flying taxis planned on the Seine, known as “vertiport”, “incomplete”, citing noise and visual pollution, energy consumption, and passenger and Parisians safety risks.
As part of this environmental assessment, Parisian officials have given a negative opinion to the Paris Council on the creation of this take-off and landing platform to be located at the Austerlitz dock.
The counselor Florian Sitbon (Socialist Party) criticized an “absurd” project endorsed by the State and the Ile-de-France region. “To save a few minutes for a few privileged people who are ignorant and contemptuous of the climate emergency, we would pollute the atmosphere and destroy the sound environment,” he denounced. The mayor of the 15th arrondissement, Philippe Gougeon, for his part, reiterated his ambition to permanently close the Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport.
“The consumption of these flying machines, nearly 190 kWh per 100 km, is two to three times higher than a thermal engine car to transport a single passenger,” added Claire de Clermont-Tonnerre (Change Paris). “It’s a new use that we absolutely did not need (…), much like what we experienced with free-floating scooters,” said Communist councilor Jean-Noël Aqua, who denounces an “ecological aberration” coupled with “social separatism,” pointing out that it would cost “the modest sum of 140 euros for 35 km”.
One of the key milestones in the calendar leading to the finalization of the flying taxi project in Paris is the decision by the Ministry of Transport, which is expected to make a decision “early 2024,” as explained by the ADP group in September 2023, as well as obtaining certification of the aircraft by civil aviation authorities, “in spring 2024.”
Le Monde with AFP
