China to pilot eVTOL aircraft services in six cities including Shenzhen and Hangzhou: media report

A foreign attendee (right) experiences an eVTOL at the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on September 26, 2024. [Yin Yeping/GT]

China will take six cities as the pilot cities to pilot electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft services, media reported on Monday, in a move to further tap into the potential of the low-altitude economy.

Sun Weiguo, an official from China Air Transport Association said during a forum in Kunshan, East China's Jiangsu Province, that the central air traffic management committee will pilot the services in six cities, according to Xinhua Finance.

Hefei in East China's Anhui Province, Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province, Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality are preliminarily chosen as the six pilot cities, Xinhua Finance reported, citing multiple insiders.

Low-altitude airspace refers to the airspace below 3,000 meters in vertical altitude. Currently, China's low-altitude economy is focused on airspace below 1,000 meters, with most drone flights operating under 600 meters, according to news outlet pub-zhtb.hizh.cn.

Airspace management is the key to the development of low-altitude economy in China. Many cities have explicitly mentioned "airspace below 600 meters" when planning low-altitude economy-related content.

Shenzhen proposed in early November plans to build over 8,000 new 5G-A base stations, focusing on strengthening low-altitude network coverage below 600 meters to enable innovative low-altitude economy applications across various sectors, Shenzhen transport bureau said.

In July, Nanjing revealed that it strives to demarcate more than 1,500 square kilometers of airspace by 2026, and expand the flyable airspace to below 600 meters, Nanjing municipal government said.

Companies are also ramping up efforts for the low-altitude economy. At the recently concluded 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, United Aircraft unveiled its full range of 15 products, with a debut with the world's first 6-ton-class tiltrotor aircraft, the Lan Ying R6000, pushing the boundaries of long-distance point-to-point unmanned logistics.

With a payload capacity of 2 tons, the Lan Ying R6000 can take off and land vertically without runways. Its advantages in range, speed, and payload capacity make it promising for business travel, logistics, and emergency rescue. The model will eventually have kerosene, hybrid, and pure electric versions, the company said.

According to CCID Consulting, China's low-altitude economy reached 505.95 billion yuan ($69.84 billion), growing 33.8 percent year-on-year.

Industrial insiders believed unmanned commercial aircraft will initially focus on cargo transportation to address gaps in railway and road coverage, as well as provide rapid air delivery during disaster relief emergencies.