On the morning of July 2nd, reporters arrived at Luogang Park in Hefei. In front of the eVTOL takeoff and landing site on Huanghe Road, as the aircraft’s “left red, right green” indicator lights fully illuminated, a 16-rotor, two-seat eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft vertically took off, circled the park along a fixed route, and smoothly landed back at the takeoff point.

It is reported that this is the Hefei Luogang Air Traffic Operation Center built by Heyi Aviation, completed in May 2024. It integrates multiple functions such as cultural tourism sightseeing, science education, and air traffic. In the future, it will offer customized services for special scenarios including aerial weddings and commercial transfers. The EH216-S operated by Heyi Aviation is the world’s first and only eVTOL autonomous passenger-carrying aircraft to hold all three certificates — the Type Certificate (TC), Airworthiness Certificate (AC), and Production Certificate (PC) — issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

According to reports, on March 28 this year, Heyi Aviation received the Operation Certificate (OC) for Passenger-Carrying Civil Autonomous Aerial Vehicles from the CAAC, officially marking the opening chapter of China’s low-altitude economy “passenger-carrying era.”

“Imagine in the future, when you’re rushing to the high-speed rail station, you can board such a flying vehicle on your rooftop, take off vertically, avoid all traffic jams, and arrive directly — like an ‘air taxi,’” said Zhang Yuhui, Operations Director of Heyi Aviation. The pilotless passenger-carrying electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft can not only be used in urban air mobility providing air commuting and transfer services, but can also deploy large-load aircraft for logistics solutions, firefighting emergency services such as high-altitude fire extinguishing, and aerial media services, displaying a giant outdoor night sky “screen.”

Currently, based on the Hefei Luogang Air Traffic Operation Center, Heyi Aviation will officially launch low-altitude sightseeing commercial operations of the EH216-S aircraft in Luogang Park, creating a model for commercial operation in the low-altitude economy.

As a key region for the development of the national low-altitude economy, Hefei is simultaneously focusing on building a supportive operational environment and developing “low-altitude plus” operational scenarios such as cultural tourism, emergency response, and logistics, to fully fuel the momentum for "takeoff" of the low-altitude economy.

Hefei has gathered more than 300 low-altitude economy enterprises, established China’s first urban air traffic hub port, and opened over 200 routes including drone medical supplies delivery, rail inspection, and food delivery.

Source: anhuinews.com