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THE STRAITS TIMES KOK YUFENG Who is keen to take an air cab? First air taxi flights in S'pore to take scenic route around Marina Bay if approved The proposed 12km-long flight operated by Volocopter is expected to be ready for launch around early- to mid-2024. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO Kok Yufeng Transport Correspondent UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO SINGAPORE - Tourists looking for a new way to take in the sights in the Marina Bay area may be able to do so from the sky if a proposed route for the first commercial air taxi flights here gets the nod from the authorities. The proposed flight over a 12km route, operated by air taxi pioneer Volocopter, is expected to be ready for launch around early- to mid-2024, with the hiring of key staff such as pilots, engineers and service crew expected to start by end-2023 at the latest, said Volocopter's chief commercial officer, Mr Christian Bauer, on Tuesday (July 12). Mr Bauer spoke to reporters during a tour of a newly launched public exhibition at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio, which will showcase a scale model of Volocopter's fully electric urban air taxi VoloCity. The two-seater aircraft has a range of 35km and a speed of 90kmh, and is part of the German company's longer-term vision for urban air mobility in Singapore. If all goes to plan, Volocopter's maiden commercial flight here will take passengers from a take-off and landing area in Marina South to the Marina Reservoir and back, going over the Marina Barrage and the Benjamin Sheares Bridge at an altitude of 100m to 150m. The journey, which will also take in parts of Kallang Basin near Tanjong Rhu, will last about 15 minutes. Mr Bauer said the proposed route is in "the final approval stage" and studies on the route have already been conducted. "Why a tourist flight? Because to be quite transparent, Singapore does not have a congestion problem on the ground, but you have around 20 million visitors per year who want to have excitement, an experience. We believe such a breathtaking sightseeing excursion would be a brilliant way to start off," he added. Another air taxi route around Sentosa island - also aimed at tourists - is next in the pipeline for Volocopter. In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, 19.1 million travellers visited Singapore, spending close to $28 billion. Mr Bauer said Volocopter is also in discussion with the authorities on the location of its first VoloPort, which is where the air taxi will take off from and land at. "We need them to break ground at the end of the year or the beginning of next year to really build up that infrastructure to be ready," he added. Volocopter's air taxis look like small helicopters with multiple mini rotor blades. But unlike regular choppers, these electric aircraft have been touted as a safer, quieter, more convenient and more environmentally friendly way to travel. They will take off from and land on vertiports - named for the way the aircraft take off and land vertically. Volocopter said its vertiports take only three to four months to build if they are constructed on cleared land.