Urban air mobility (UAM) company EHang has delivered ten pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to Taiyuan in China where two have completed debut passenger-carrying flights.

The two EH216-S eVTOL aircraft took off simultaneously with four passengers onboard at a ceremony last week organised by the Taiyuan Xishan Tourism and attended by local government officials.

The flights showcased the potential of pilotless eVTOL in providing aerial sightseeing services in Taiyuan, and demonstrated the EH216-S’s advantages in autonomous flying, cluster management, and safe and stable operations.

During the event, EHang also showcased its VT-30 long-range pilotless passenger-carrying eVTOL, the EH216-F for firefighting use and the EH216-L for logistics use.

“The new low-altitude application scenarios are continuously expanding, and a new landscape of the low-altitude industry chain is further taking shape,” said Jicheng Yang, Taiyuan executive vice mayor. “Taiyuan is a national civil unmanned aerial vehicle test zone, with the foundation and advantages to develop the aviation industry, and will actively seize the lead in the emerging low-altitude economy industry.”

In May this year, Xishan Tourism and EHang signed a memorandum of understanding and a purchase order for 50 EH216-S aircraft, with a plan to acquire an additional 450 units over the next two years. The first batch will be deployed for local low-altitude sightseeing and tourism services. Xishan Tourism plans to launch eVTOL low-altitude sightseeing routes at Yuquan Mountain, Paddy Field Park and Juewei Mountain, among other locations in Taiyuan, to establish a series of trend-setting low-altitude tourism demonstration projects.

“Xishan Tourism plans to collaborate with EHang and other partners on low-altitude scenarios of air mobility, tourism and public services to establish multiple flight camps or landing pads, alongside various low-altitude sightseeing routes for pilotless eVTOL within Taiyuan and nearby scenic areas,” said Yaozong Chang, chairman of Xishan Tourism. “We aim to build an urban low-altitude tourism mobility network and a new urban air traffic management system, and to establish a low-altitude economy industrial park.”

• The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has formally accepted the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) applications submitted by EHang (www.ehang.com). This marks the start of the review process for the applicants’ business licence and operational qualification for pilotless passenger-carrying aerial vehicles, with consensus reached on review procedures, subjects and frameworks. The CAAC has established a specialised review team to move forward the subsequent review process.