Unmanned air taxi EHang takes people into the air for the first time in Thailand

China’s EHang Holdings Limited said its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle EH216-S has made its passenger transport debut in Thailand. “These flights mark an important milestone in the expansion of the eVTOL EHang flight envelope,” the company noted, adding that its device has already completed more than 50 thousand flights.

Image source: EHang

The debut passenger flights took place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok with permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT). Among the first passengers were executives from the country’s aviation industry, including a representative from Bangkok Airways.

Suttipong Kongpool, head of CAAT, noted that EHang’s EH216-S is currently the only eVTOL aircraft in the world to receive airworthiness certificates. After completing the required amount of flight testing, EHang plans to begin commercial flights in Phuket and Koh Samui by 2025.

The EH216-S has three airworthiness certificates issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. It is a fully autonomous two-seat eVTOL designed for short-haul air transport. Its cruising speed is 100 km/h, maximum speed is 130 km/h, range and flight time are 30 km and about 25 minutes. For comparison, the flight range of Volocopter’s VoloCity reaches 35 km, VoloConnect – 100 km, and Joby’s S4 – 240 km.

Last week, Toyota and Joby completed Japan’s first flight tests of air taxis, and Japan Airlines announced its intention to purchase electric eVTOL aircraft from Archer for up to $500 million.

Earlier this year, EHang announced that the EH216-S will be priced at $410K.