FutureFlight
Consultant Assesses Barriers to eVTOL Operations in Dubai
FEV Consulting's Denis Heckmann focused on challenges facing Dubai's plans for urban air mobility.
Volocopter in Dubai
In 2017, Volocopter demonstrated an early prototype of its VoloCity eVTOL aircraft in Dubai (Photo: Volocopter)

“It is not sufficient to implement an eVTOL service by simply substituting it for helicopter service in the future.” That was the warning from Denis Heckmann of FEV Consulting as he delivered his analysis of prospects for urban air mobility (UAM) services in Dubai during the recent Vertical Flight Society Forum 76 conference.

Back in 2017, Dubai’s Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA) began conducting air taxi demonstration flights using early prototypes of eVTOL aircraft being developed by Germany’s Volocopter and China’s EHang. The ambitious city-state, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, set a goal of making 25 percent of all traffic self-driving by 2030, including air taxis. However, since then Dubai’s UAM plans seem to have gone quiet, with little further progress evident.