The Council of State canceled, on Wednesday, a ministerial decree authorizing the creation of a take-off and landing base for electric “flying taxis” on the Seine in Paris, French media report.
While the highest administrative court, seized in summary proceedings, had given a provisional green light to this “vertiport” on July 24, it ended up agreeing on the merits of the applicants, who considered that the Executive should have first consulted the Air Nuisance Control Authority (Acnusa), as provided for by law.
Among the applicants were the City of Paris and several associations fighting against air pollution. The defenders of the project were the government and Groupe ADP, manager of Paris airports, the latter carrying out this project with the German aircraft manufacturer “Volocopter”, according to the local press.
This decision comes after a series of setbacks for this project whose promoters initially wanted to take advantage of the showcase of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris to showcase an “innovative” and “decarbonized” means of transport, but they gave up at the beginning of August. .
The project, discussed since the end of 2020, had already seen its ambitions revised downwards before the summer, “Volocopter” not having obtained certification in time from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to accommodate paying passengers .
In its current version, the two-seater aircraft, including that of the pilot, is equipped with batteries powering 18 rotors arranged in a ring above the cockpit.
With MAP
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