Ehang conducts test flights with passengers in Thailand

The flights with the EH216-S aircraft took place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in the centre of Bangkok as part of the Thailand Drone Exhibition & Symposium 2024. Ehang had received authorisation for demonstration flights from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (‘CAAT’) in advance.

The company also plans to conduct further flight tests with the EH216-S in Thailand with the authority’s approval and start commercial flight operations in regions such as Phuket and Koh Samui by 2025 to develop Thailand’s low-altitude airspace and air mobility market.
The EH216-S can take off and land vertically, eliminating the need for conventional airport runways. It can provide point-to-point air transport in city centres and could help to alleviate Thailand’s traffic congestion problems on the ground, Ehang argues. The company also hopes that the aircraft will play a role in tourism in Thailand, especially for transport to islands, as traditional water transport methods are more time-consuming.

“This demo flight marks significant progress in integrating UAM solutions into Thailand’s aviation industry,” said Suttipong Kongpool, Director of CAAT. “EHang’s EH216-S is currently the world’s only eVTOL with airworthiness certificates, and we look forward to its commercial flight operations in certain areas of Thailand next year, which will serve as a significant contribution to Thailand’s UAM roadmap development plan.”

Ehang’s Chief Financial Officer Conor Yang added: “The debut passenger flights of our EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Thailand is a key milestone in EHang’s ongoing international development and that is a strong boost in promoting the transformation of global advanced urban air mobility. We aim to apply our pilotless eVTOL products and solutions in the Southeast Asian market. In the future, with the strong support of the CAAT, we will cooperate with our local partners to formulate a model for regular UAM operations in Thailand, contributing to the development of the urban air mobility market in Southeast Asia and worldwide.”

In addition to the launch in Thailand, there are two other pieces of news from Ehang. Firstly, the company is partnering with Zhuhai Enpower Electric to jointly develop high-performance electric motors and motor controllers for Ehang’s electric aircraft. Secondly, Ehang has opened a vertiport in Luogang Central Park in the Chinese city of Hefei, from which the EH216-S can take off and land vertically.

Ehang is several steps ahead of its Western competitors in developing its flying taxi. It is the only company in the world to have received type certification and a production certificate for an eVTOL. Meanwhile, Ehang’s German rivals are struggling: Lilium from Munich recently went into self-administration, and Chinese car manufacturer Geely may take over Volocopter from Bruchsal.

ehang.com (Thailand), ehang.com (Enpower), ehang.com (Vertiport),