EASA drafts world’s first rules for city air taxis

The world’s first regulations for the operation of drones, eVTOLs and air taxis have been published in draft form by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The proposed new regulatory framework, NPA 2022-06, is open to public consultation until 30 September 2022, and covers airworthiness, air operations, flight crew licensing and rules of the air.

“With this, EASA becomes the first aviation regulator worldwide to release a comprehensive regulatory framework for operations of VTOL-capable aircraft, which will offer air taxi and similar services,” said EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky.

“We have done our best to address general societal concerns and the expectations of EU citizens with respect to safety, security, privacy, environment and noise.”

Manufacturers in Europe – Volocopter and Lilium principally, but there are others – have said to EASA that they will be ready for certification of VTOL aircraft in the next few years.

Among the measures:

• Definitions of what’s a helicopter and what’s another type of rotorcraft, such as a multi-prop eVTOL.
• Operators will need to hold an air operator certificate (AOC). The AOC requirements and process are the same as for operators of aeroplanes and helicopters.
• Pilots of air taxis will need to be holders of commercial pilot licences for aeroplanes or helicopters (CPL(A) and CPL(H)), and issued with a VTOL-capable aircraft type rating.
• Standardised European rules of the air (SERA) will apply, including the underlying principle of ‘see and avoid’ and minimum heights for both VFR and IFR flights.
• Fuel/energy reserves: The aircraft must carry a sufficient amount of usable fuel/energy and reserves to safely complete the planned flight and to allow for deviations from the planned operation.

EASA NPA-2022-06