EHang completes pilotless flights in Switzerland

Advanced air mobility (AAM) technology platform company EHang has announced the successful completion of the first flights of its EH216-S pilotless electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Switzerland.

EHang reports this expands its global flight footprint to 22 countries. The milestone flights event in Quinto, Ticino, in the Alpine region, demonstrates the potential of autonomous eVTOL technology to overcome challenging mountainous terrain while supporting the future application in regional logistics and tourism.

Alpine and regional transportation

The flights were conducted in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Foca), the Municipality of Quinto, and DroneVia, EHang’s strategic project partner in Switzerland. DroneVia is a Swiss technology and mobility initiative working to integrate eVTOL and drones into the future of Alpine and regional transportation.

According to EHang, this milestone represents a crucial step towards building the safe and long-term deployment of AAM across the country and towards advancing operational validation, airworthiness certification, airspace management, and commercial operations.

EHang intends to focus on demonstration scenarios in which EH216-S could complement Switzerland’s existing mobility networks, with the aim of providing a sustainable, efficient supplement to traditional transportation ways.

“Technologies that seemed like distant visions until just a few years ago are now a reality, opening up entirely new prospects for transporting people and goods, logistics, tourism, and public services in the Alpine region”

EHang reckons the potential applications may extend to passenger transportation, eco-tourism, regional logistics, and emergency response missions.

“Drones capable of transporting goods and people are, in fact, creating new opportunities for mobility in Alpine areas, supporting businesses on mountain pastures, and solving logistical challenges in hard-to-reach areas,” said Norman Gobbi, president of the Council of State of the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and director of the Department of Institutions.