Malaga Airport tests planned passenger drone route for the first time
The trial flight, the last step to establish the protocol, was carried out with a helicopter, as there are no approved eVTOL air taxis operating yet
It looked like nothing more than a conventional helicopter flight but, in reality, the flight that took off from Malaga Airport on Tuesday was the first test of the future 'aerotaxi' route. The plan is to use drones for these operations, known in the aviation world as eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft). At the moment, however, no model has been approved in Spain, which is why the test was carried out with a helicopter.
The first tests of the so-called 'OperA' ('Operate Anywhere') European project, which SUR is closely following, were carried in Madrid.
The air taxi crossed the sky between Malaga and Granada, opening the possibility for a direct connection to Marbella in just 20 minutes
This first 'airtaxi' tested the Malaga-Granada route with two journeys, which opens the possibility to a route to Marbella, which will connect the airport with the coastal town in just 20 minutes.
Malaga-Granada connected by air
As reported by Aena and Enaire, the helicopter connected Malaga Airport and Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén on Tuesday through an airspace corridor designed by the Malaga control tower and Madrid experts. According to these sources, the flights will initially be operated by pilots and later by unmanned passenger drones.
The test is the final step before the protocol is approved, aiming to verify that the routes and the operating procedures allow these aircraft, whether piloted, remote or autonomous, to fly in controlled and uncontrolled airspace.
The initiative seeks to demonstrate that these aircraft can coexist with conventional aviation with the highest level of operational safety in real environments. The advanced aerial transport project is supported by Sesar 3. The EU is providing nearly 5.97 million euros of the 9.52-million funding.
"It represents a decisive step towards the safe and efficient integration of eVTOL aircraft in all types of airspace, contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and connected European digital sky," sources said. The 'ÓperA' project is led by tech multinational Honeywell, with the participation of Aena, Enaire, Crida, Eurocontrol and manufacturers such as Pipistrel and Vertical Aerospace, among others.
