Volocopter, the German air taxi start-up and pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), announced today that the FAA has accepted its application for concurrent type certificate validation on 22 December 2020. This sets the basis for Volocopter to bring its electric air taxi services to the American market.

Volocopter is the only eVTOL company in the world with design organisation approval, the licence to develop and build certified aircraft, from EASA. The company is currently in the process of receiving EASA type certification for its VoloCity aircraft. Volocopter is seeking FAA approval to enter the US market concurrently with its EASA type certificate to accelerate its worldwide expansion.

Volocopter boasts 10 years of full-scale aircraft testing experience, substantial international partnerships and investors, and an electric air taxi design fit for intra-city transport and certification. Through long-standing relationships with cities like Singapore, Paris and Dubai, the company has already demonstrated its expertise in electric flight for inner-city mobility.

“Our accomplishments are setting the stage for more extensive adoption of UAM implementation by our industry,” states CEO Florian Reuter. “By focusing on a collaborative approach to success, we are bringing excellence, expertise and experience to the table together with our partners, and with that we are leading the way to bring urban air mobility to life in cities around the globe.

“From the beginning, we have considered the US an important market for our services. Certification is the key to this market, and we are excited to begin the process of seeking approval from the FAA to introduce this innovative era of mobility not only in Europe and Asia but also in the US.”

The VoloCity, Volocopter's electric air taxi, is designed to meet the highest aircraft safety standards and features the lowest noise development in the industry. Volocopter developed the VoloCity to meet growing demand for better intra-city mobility in large cities like Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC among others. These air taxi services would promote local job opportunities, save people time and reduce costs associated with spending hours in traffic by flying over it. Furthermore, Volocopter's business plan aims to provide scalable air taxi services at costs comparable to regular taxi services.

Volocopter is currently working with EASA on certification for commercial launch planned in the next two to three years. When Volocopter receives type certification approval from EASA, immediately followed by the FAA validation in this timeframe, it will be positioned to enter the electric air taxi market first and pave the way for the UAM industry to expand services globally. By offering concurrent type certificate validation, the FAA gives aircraft manufacturers like Volocopter the opportunity to show that they are fulfilling the necessary requirements parallel to being certified by the primary authority of the company's current jurisdiction, for example EASA. This format promotes open communication about certification and safety qualifications internationally for aircraft like the VoloCity.

Volocopter is stepping into the spotlight to lead the UAM industry towards commercial electric air taxi services by orchestrating a complete UAM ecosystem with its innovative backend, the digital operating system VoloIQ, an open API platform for the UAM industry. This will benefit the entire industry with an optimal passenger experience, operational safety, partner integration for logistics, infrastructure and suppliers, and productive regulator and city collaboration for implementing these services.