China officially licenses unmanned flying taxis for commercial operation

China has just reached a major milestone in its ambition to develop a commercial flying taxi industry, marking a major step forward in urban air transport.

For the first time, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has granted aviation operation licenses to two pioneering companies in the field, allowing them to officially operate autonomous passenger drones.

According to state news agency Xinhua, the two licensed companies are EHang Holdings, a company listed on the US Nasdaq, and Hefei Hey Airlines, a potential domestic enterprise.

The air operator certificate is considered the final legal barrier before flying taxis can officially enter commercial operation.

With this license, both EHang Holdings and Hefei Hey Airlines will be allowed to deploy passenger transport services using drones, including urban sightseeing flights.

This opens up huge potential in the field of low-altitude air transport, helping to reduce pressure on ground transport infrastructure, while promoting the development of smart cities.

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The CAAC's licensing decision not only marks a major step forward in flying taxi technology, but also demonstrates China's strong commitment to leading the field.

The Chinese government is pushing the autonomous passenger drone industry toward safety, sustainability and strict regulation, laying a solid foundation for large-scale commercialization of flying taxis in the near future.

According to a report by Citic Securities (China), the aviation operation certificate is the final legal barrier that flying taxi companies need to overcome before officially entering commercial operation.

Previously, both EHang Holdings and Hefei Hey Airlines had obtained Type Certificate, Production Certificate and Airworthiness Certificate, three important prerequisites for legal operation of flying taxis.

Analysts say low-altitude air travel could be the first stepping stone for the flying taxi industry to take off.

According to a report by Citic Securities, EHang's flying taxi urban tours are expected to play an important role in accelerating the development of the industry and helping the public become familiar with this new form of transportation.

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In recent months, Beijing has rolled out a series of support measures to spur the development of the low-altitude aviation economy, a sector that includes cutting-edge technologies such as delivery drones, hot air balloons, flying cars and other urban air vehicles.

China's leaders have positioned low-altitude aviation as a strategic industry with the potential to become a new engine of economic growth in the coming years.

Premier Li Qiang highlighted the importance of the low-altitude aviation economy in a speech to the National People's Congress in March 2024, placing it on par with biomanufacturing, quantum computing, embodied artificial intelligence, and 6G mobile networks.

Mr. Cheng Bolin, Vice President of the China Information Association, also affirmed at an industry conference on March 28 that: "The low-altitude aviation economy is a new growth engine and will play an important role in promoting the high-speed development of the Chinese economy."

China's low-altitude aviation economy is expected to be worth around $207 billion by 2025, and could grow to $345 billion by 2035, according to a report from the Hurun Research Group (China), citing data from the CAAC.

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With the rapid development of the flying taxi market, China is witnessing fierce competition between domestic and international companies. Pioneers such as EHang and Feihang Aviation are leading the field, while traditional automakers such as Xpeng and Geely are also stepping up investment in low-altitude aviation technology.

In addition, multinational corporations such as Boeing (USA), Airbus (Europe) and Embraer (Brazil) are also competing fiercely to gain market share in the global flying taxi market.

“Looking ahead, as policies supporting the low-altitude aviation economy continue to be rolled out, competition in the flying taxi sector will become increasingly fierce,” the Hurun report said.

With strong government backing and the participation of major technology corporations, China is rapidly positioning itself as a world-leading hub in flying taxis and urban air transportation.