China has given EHang the green light for human-carrying pilotless flights at low altitude.

Urban air mobility (UAM) company Ehang’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Guangdong EHang General Aviation, and its joint venture company in Hefei, Hefei HeYi Aviation, have been granted the first batch of air operator certificates (OCs) for civil human-carrying pilotless aerial vehicles by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

This milestone officially marks the launch of China’s human-carrying flight era in the low-altitude economy, allowing citizens and consumers to purchase flight tickets for low-altitude tourism, urban sightseeing and diverse commercial human-carrying flight services at related operation sites in Guangzhou and Hefei.

In the future, operators will gradually expand into more scenarios such as urban commuting based on operational conditions legally and compliantly. The issuance of the first batch of OCs sets a benchmark for the low-altitude economy and urban air mobility.

EHang has already achieved multiple historical certification breakthroughs, including the world’s first type certificate (TC), standard airworthiness certificate (AC) and production certificate (PC) for pilotless human-carrying eVTOL aircraft. Now, with the newly granted OC, EHang becomes the first eVTOL company to achieve the full suite of regulatory certifications. This marks a significant step towards the commercialisation and mass adoption of low-altitude human-carrying flight services.

EHang (www.ehang.com) says it has always been committed to building the qualifications and capabilities required for the safe, regulated and legal operation of pilotless human-carrying aerial vehicles. Looking ahead, it will continue collaborating with more partners to expand commercial operation sites, establishing additional low-altitude transportation operation centres in Guangzhou, Hefei and other regions across China. These efforts will support local operators in applying for OCs for civil pilotless human-carrying aerial vehicles, enabling more cities to launch regular low-altitude tourism flights, urban sightseeing and a wider range of commercial human-carrying flight services for the public.