BRITAIN’S first flying taxi centre has opened and flights could be taking off soon.
The facility has been hailed a “once-in-a-generation milestone” in the development of new aircraft.
Pioneering tech firm Vertical Aerospace has debuted a new first-of-its-kind facility at its Cotswold Airport site in Gloucestershire.
The team based at the assembly centre are currently working on the development and testing of a new form of air taxi called the Valo aircraft.
The electric vehicle seats up to four passengers and can fly up to 160km without any operating emissions.
Construction on the new Valo aircraft is set to begin in late 2027.
Initially, the tech firm has said it will build 25 aircraft a year but will grow this number to 900 a year by 2035.
Vertical revealed they have already received 1,500 orders, largely from airlines, but is also planning on getting its planes accredited for commercial use by 2029.
The new facilities form part of Vertical’s larger existing flight test centre located at the airport, increasing the site by a further 60,000 sq ft.
Vertical Aerospace’s CEO, Stuart Simpson, told the BBC that we are “getting really close to this idea of flying cars, flying taxis”.
“Opening our aircraft assembly centre is an important step in Vertical’s transition from prototype developer to aircraft manufacturer,” added Simpson.
“Bringing a new category of aircraft to market is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and it is especially rewarding to do that here in Great Britain, drawing on the country’s proud aviation heritage.”
Later this year, plans for a separate full-scale production site are expected to be revealed with the aim of supporting a much larger volume of vehicle manufacturing.