India can leapfrog others to make electric air taxis a reality, says JoeBen Bevirt, founder of Joby Aviation
urban pollution and congestion problem, said JoeBen Bevirt, founder of Joby Aviation. Speaking here on Saturday, he said the company is looking to launch in India after it launches commercial operation in 2025.
Joby Aviation is a California-based aviation company, developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that it intends to operate as an air taxi service.
Besides many other venture-backed funds, the company has raised a $590-million-funding round, led by Toyota Motor Corporation.
«India is a dynamic place and has reputation to embrace emerging technology fast and I believe electric air taxi to provide India an incredible opportunity to leapfrog other nations to provide low-cost, high-speed, green transportation in a way that has not been possible before,» Bevirt said.
India, he said, is a major force in global aviation, showing an 11% growth every year — four times faster than the global average.
«India has the opportunity to lead the way to bring air taxis to market and with that we can make this growth in aviation sustainable dramatically reducing the emission of a flight,» he said.
Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had earlier said that air taxis will become a reality in the next 4-5 years in India.
The government is currently working on approving Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for drones.
While Visual Line of Sight flights are dependent and operated within the pilot's line of sight, BVLOS allows drones to fly beyond visual range, which brings the cost
