ALGUAIRE, Spain, Nov. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chinese company EHang, a global leader in the field of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), has inaugurated an avant-garde center in Spain for the so-called air taxis. Located within the Lleida-Alguaire International Airport in Catalonia, the center represents the first facility in Europe for unmanned electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft, the eVTOLs, and will be a benchmark for the integration of these drones with airport infrastructures and air traffic management systems. EHang´s EH216-S eVTOL, the first in the world certified for passenger transportation, deployed at the UAM Center, will allow the generation of valuable operational experience, for their safe integration in European airspace. The Center includes a vertiport, an area for the takeoff and landing of air taxis, which complies with the design criteria of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The vertiport will allow the perfect integration of eVTOLs with the airport terminal and expand knowledge in the field, facilitating the use of air taxis in more locations. "The creation of EHang's European urban air mobility center marks an important step forward in the company's international development," explained Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman, and CEO of the company based in Guangzhou, during the inauguration event. "With this world-class center, EHang intends to demonstrate its strong commitment to the development and proliferation of Urban Air Mobility in Europe," continued the CEO, emphasizing that the company intends "to share its certified and validated technology and its extensive operational experience with its partners around the world, to realize our shared vision of benefiting the whole society with safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly urban air mobility solutions." "We are particularly proud of the collaboration with EHang, a leading company in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles in the world," and "we are grateful for choosing our international airport as the first European UAM base," said Marc Sanglas, Secretary for Mobility and Infrastructure of the Government of Catalonia, in Spain. "EHang's European UAM Center was initially conceived to support the company's operations and activities in the SESAR-JU U-ELCOME and EUSPA SAMVA projects. Furthermore, we are looking at extending its applications to innovative urban air mobility projects, as well as to certification and airworthiness requirements to further promote the development of the industry and make urban air mobility a reality in Europe," stated Victoria Xiang, COO of EHang in Europe and Latin America.
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