Air Taxis Failed to Get Certified for the Paris Olympics

A Volocity air taxi flies during a demonstration flight at Paris Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023. (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
A Volocity air taxi flies during a demonstration flight at Paris Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023. (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
TT

Air Taxis Failed to Get Certified for the Paris Olympics

A Volocity air taxi flies during a demonstration flight at Paris Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023. (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
A Volocity air taxi flies during a demonstration flight at Paris Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023. (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)

It was a tantalizing vision: autonomous flying taxis zipping spectators around the Paris Olympics, their electric engines humming softly over the cityscape, ushering in a new era in public transport.

Certification delays dashed that dream. But the backers of the Volocopter aircraft that was meant to ferry Olympic fans aren’t giving up. They carried out a test flight Sunday, marking the last day of the 2024 Olympics with a sunrise demonstration over the resplendent grounds of the Versailles palace, The AP reported.

The craft carried baggage, but no people, when it took off from the gardens of Versailles, from where the first hot-air balloon took flight in 1783.

The Paris region had planned for a small fleet of pilot-less air taxis for the Olympics, operated by Germany’s Volocopter and the Paris airport authority ADP.

Five Olympic routes were planned, including one landing on a platform on the Seine River -- and Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke hoped that French President Emmanuel Macron would be his first passenger.

But ADP’s CEO Augustin de Romanet said Thursday that it had failed to win certification from Europe’s air safety agency in time for the Games.

Manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft — or eVTOL – remain confident that they’re a wave of the future. Companies around the world are trying to get their models authorized for flight.

Volocopter now hopes to get permission to carry passengers over Paris for the city’s next major event: the reopening of fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in December.

And rivals are aiming to make the vision of Olympic spectators hopping around venues in autonomous flying machines a reality the next Summer Games — in Los Angeles in 2028.



Saudi Arabia’s Dugong Protection Efforts Take Center Stage at Environment Week 2025 

The Saudi government, through the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), is implementing specialized programs aimed at safeguarding the species from the threat of extinction. (SPA)
The Saudi government, through the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), is implementing specialized programs aimed at safeguarding the species from the threat of extinction. (SPA)
TT

Saudi Arabia’s Dugong Protection Efforts Take Center Stage at Environment Week 2025 

The Saudi government, through the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), is implementing specialized programs aimed at safeguarding the species from the threat of extinction. (SPA)
The Saudi government, through the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), is implementing specialized programs aimed at safeguarding the species from the threat of extinction. (SPA)

The dugong (Dugong dugon) continues to be a vital symbol of biodiversity in Saudi Arabia. The vulnerable mammal serves as a sensitive environmental indicator reflecting the health and stability of marine ecosystems, safely swimming in the warm coastal waters of Saudi Arabia. The dugong has captured public imagination, intertwining marine legends with environmental reality, merging the wonder of folklore with scientific significance.

During Saudi Environment Week 2025, efforts to protect the dugong took center stage in national events, highlighting its status as a species that is vulnerable to extinction, necessitating responsibilities from researchers, environmental enthusiasts, and policymakers.

The Saudi government, through the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), is implementing specialized programs aimed at safeguarding the species from the threat of extinction. Initiatives include satellite tracking and scientific studies that monitor the dugong's distribution in Saudi territorial waters, as well as national plans to manage and rehabilitate its natural habitats, ensuring the sustainability of its marine environment and creating suitable conditions for its reproduction and survival.

Beyond the local level, Saudi Arabia has also emphasized enhancing international cooperation in this field. In 2013, the country signed an agreement to protect the dugong and its habitats and has actively participated in global environmental initiatives, including the Pacific Year of the Dugong, launched in 2011.

Throughout Saudi Environment Week, the NCW showcased its latest studies on the dugong and provided educational awareness programs for visitors, students, and enthusiasts. The NCW focused on the significance of the dugong within the ecological balance and the necessity of preserving its habitats. The center demonstrated modern tracking technologies used to monitor the dugong and understand its movements.