FutureFlight On The Radar
EASA Proposes New Rules for eVTOL Air Taxi Operations in European Cities
The European air safety agency opened a public consultation on draft rules that it says are the first of their kind in the world.

EASA this week published proposed rules governing the operation of new eVTOL air taxi services in cities. The proposed regulatory framework, which the European aviation safety agency says is the first of its kind in the world, is now open for public consultation through Sept. 30, 2022.

The rules outlined in the 295-page Notice of Proposed Amendment 2022-06 cover technical aspects of eVTOL services including airworthiness, air operations, flight crew licensing, and the rules of the air. According to EASA, they will complement existing European Union regulatory materials covering the operation of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and the so-called U-space uncrewed air traffic management system. They also draw on EASA’s latest special conditions rules for the certification and airworthiness approval of new VTOL aircraft, and existing guidance on the design of vertiports.