Israel conducts first drone air taxi test
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israel carried out its first drone air taxi test this week, as part of a new initiative to relieve traffic congestion on the roads, i24News reports. This week’s test involved 11 drone companies, and represents the first time Israel has tried drone technology for the purpose of operating taxis.
As an initiative of Israel’s Transportation Ministry in partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Drone Project aims to prepare Israel’s airspace for autonomous electric drones that can carry passengers and cargo, i24News said. The Project plans to operate dozens of drones one week per month in controlled airspace.
Dronery and the Israeli company AIR conducted test flights at the Caesarea heliport and in southern Israel with autonomous drones that can carry two passengers. Both Dronery and AIR are hoping to get an aviation license for their drones from the Federal Aviation Administration, i24News report.
More than 19,000 sorties have been flown in the past three years, the National Drone Project has reported. Companies will continue to conduct weekly flights over the next two years, the Project has stated.
“Israel is one of the global leaders in this field, and today’s experiment is an important milestone in the National Drone Initiative which gained international acclaim,” Israel Airports Authority Director-General Dror Bin said in a statement.
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