It sounds like a sci-fi concept from another planet, or a blockbuster movie.
But flying taxis are coming to Britain sooner than we thought, according to Transport Minister Mike Kane.
The MP for for Wythenshawe and Sale East claims there will be flying taxis over British skies in just three years’ time.
‘This Government wants to see the UK maximise the benefits of future flight technologies including flying taxis, both for the economy and for communities,’ Kane told MPs on Thursday.
Government expects flying taxis to ‘routinely’ be in the air above us by 2028, and potentially operating without a pilot by 2030.
Speeding at over 150mph for up to 100 miles, the vehicles are expected to make journeys more than three times quicker than by car.
And the electric-powered aircraft are touted as cheaper, greener, quieter and more accessible than helicopters.
Government last month announced £20 million of government funding for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to make flying taxis a reality.
Flying taxis will be whizzing around British skies by 2028, Government claims. The vehicles are expected to make journeys more than three times quicker than by car. This concept image shows a Virgin-branded aircraft, built by Vertical Aerospace, flying over London
Transport Minister Mike Kane claims there will be flying taxis over British skies in just three years’ time. Pictured here during a sustainability event in Bedford, September 2024
‘This joint programme between industry, Government and the CAA will enhance drone capability by 2027 and flying taxis by 2028 in the UK skies,’ Mr Kane added.
Alice Macdonald, Labour MP for Norwich North, invited Kane to ‘take a flight on an electric plane’ used in a scheme based at Norwich Airport that hopes to ‘make East Anglia the heart of aviation innovation’, the Times reports.
Kane said he would be ‘delighted’ to visit the airport, although it’s unclear if he’s agreed to any such flight.
Conservative shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon later claimed the Government’s Employment Rights Bill could ‘threaten passengers’ abilities to travel without disruption or additional costs’.
But Kane replied: ‘This Government will always put passengers first. That’s why more passengers than ever are flying in our skies and leaving our airports.’
Flying taxis have been heralded as the next big technology for transporting the public faster and more eco-efficiently.
Later this decade, humans could hail an Uber-style trip on flying taxis and be transported distances much quicker than traditional cars on the ground.
Flying taxis could travel through the air almost without stopping – a blessed relief from the start-stop nature of ground-based taxi trips.
Speeding at over 150mph for up to 100 miles, flying taxis are cheaper, greener and quieter than helicopters and the government hopes they’ll be in the air by 2028
If you’re a weary Londoner, the idea of an eight minute journey from Heathrow to Canary Wharf might sound too good to be true. But it’s set to become a reality, with the launch of a flying taxi service in Britain
Investors around the world are pumping millions of dollars into flying taxi projects, which are going through various stages of testing.
Vertical Aerospace, based in Bristol, is one UK firm working towards building the fleet of electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, as part of a £2.8 billion ($4 billion) project.
VTOL aircraft can take off straight up into the air rather than having to build speed along the ground first, reducing the need for runway space.
In a few years, VTOL could potentially take off and land at airfields in the outskirts of a city, or even on landing pads at the top of skyscrapers.
A journey from Liverpool to Leeds takes just 26 minutes, compared with an hour and a half in a car. Or 20 minutes from Brighton to Heathrow, which currently takes four times as long by car.
In March, Virgin Atlantic teamed up with Joby Aviation in a partnership that aims to offer ‘seamless, zero-emission, short-range journeys across the UK’.
Their futuristic electric air taxis are designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers, and can hit impressive speeds of up to 200mph.
This means that the journey between Heathrow and Canary Wharf – which currently takes around 80 minutes by taxi – could be slashed to just eight minutes.
Ministers will set out ambitious plans to overhaul current regulations and infrastructure and enable flying taxis to take to the air in 2028 and operate without a pilot by 2030 (file image)
Virgin Atlantic has teamed up with Joby Aviation in a partnership that aims to offer ‘seamless, zero-emission, short-range journeys across the UK’. Pictured, a southern network
A northern hub will operate across Manchester, Manchester Airport, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York, and Hull
They envision a southern flying taxi network that transports passengers between locations such as London, Heathrow Airport, Birmingham, Cambridge and Oxford.
A northern network, meanwhile, will link up cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York, and Hull.
Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, thinks we are on the brink of a ‘flying taxi’ boom and the brink of a ‘new revolution’.
Mr Hillier has called for a global common standard for flying taxis ahead of the ‘widespread’ adoption of the vehicles, which will utilise space in the air and reduce congestion on roads.
And just like the electric car revolution that is taking place on the ground, most flying taxi will be electric, meaning they won’t emit toxic pollutants.
‘If we go outside at the moment and look up into the air, it’s mostly empty,’ Mr Hillier previously told the Financial Times.
‘And we will now have the technologies to make much more use of that environment than we have in the past.’
