Air taxi startups look at cities like New York as prime targets for their futures, but a new helicopter ban calls it all into doubt.
If you’re of a certain age, you’ve been dreaming about your flying car for a long, long time. Now, on the eve of an autonomous eVTOL future that could see that dream finally come true, a new bill put forward by the New York City Council to eliminate “non-essential” helicopter flights could be putting that dream in jeopardy.
What’s more, that’s not even the only new bill that’s putting the future of eVTOL taxis in doubt. Another, related, bill but forward in the New York state legislature bill puts even more on helicopter operators— and that one’s just waiting on a signature from Governor Kathy Hochul to go into effect. That bill would grant individuals the right to sue helicopter operators who, “create an unreasonable level of sustained noise at ground level.”
The new laws in question don’t specifically target eVTOLs, but refer to, “rotary-wing aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing,” which would include projects from companies like Hyundai and Joby Air— but probably not a more jet-like project like Lilium.
As it stands, the only operations defined as “essential” (and, therefore, permissible) are those conducted by first responders, emergency services, the US military, and “news gathering organizations.” Which, come to think of it, probably applies to us here at Electrify News!
See you in the skies, kids! Until that happens, though, you can let us know what you think of New York’s proposed anti-chopper laws, and what kind of impact they’ll have on the flying car infrastructure of the future, in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
SOURCE | IMAGES: FUTURE FLIGHT.
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