Virgin Atlantic Will Start Testing Flying Taxis From Heathrow Airport

Virgin Atlantic is gearing up to bring the future of flying taxis to our present as it begins testing taxi routes between its London Heathrow hub and different ports in the country. The airline company has partnered with UK startup Vertical Aerospace Ltd to test-drive the latter’s four-seater eVTOL flying taxi model, VX4.

The tests are being conducted to determine how the vehicle operates, along with ground charging, navigation, and security systems. Virgin Atlantic’s flying taxi venture has been well underway; a vertiport has even been constructed, with aerial and ground trials in the pipelines.

The tests will be a twofold venture. The first portion of the pilot will include flights from Bristol Airport, where Vertical is based, to an undisclosed airfield in southwest England.   

The second batch of test flights will take off from the carrier’s hub at London Heathrow Airport and will make their journey down to a vertiport built by Skysports called Living Lab. This vertiport has been built in another unknown location close to the capital.   

Along with physical flights, simulated flights will also be used to test out the proximity and accessibility between London and Bristol.   

The UK government has recently backed the eVTOL industry to expand the prospects of personal air flights. Vertical Aerospace, Virgin Atlantic, Skysports, Atkins, and the air management group NATS received a £9.5 million (US$14 million) grant to move forward with trials and development.

Heathrow Airport and Bristol Airport have also been added to the UK’s Research and Innovation agency’s Future Flight Challenge. The government has charged this association of aviation and infrastructure companies with proving and demonstrating the benefits of advanced air mobility (AAM). 

[via Bloomberg and AIN Online, cover image via Vertical Aerospace]