FutureFlight
Austria Grants Trial eVTOL Flight Permit to EHang
EHang worked with Austrian partner FACC to obtain a trial flight permit to test its AAV in European airspace.
EHang in Austria
In 2019, EHang conducted a public flight demonstration at a soccer stadium in Austria. (Photo: EHang)

After conducting a test flight of the EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) in Austria in November, the country’s civil aviation authority issued a trial flight permit on December 9 that allows EHang to conduct further unmanned flights. According to EHang, this is the first issuance of a flight permit for unmanned flights of its “passenger-grade” AAVs in the European Union.

The November test flight took place in “harsh weather conditions,” EHang said, which included cold temperatures and high winds, in St Martin im Innkreis. The flight was managed autonomously but under the supervision of air traffic management organization Austro Control.