A VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft is a vehicle that can depart, hover and land vertically.

VTOL, also referred to as Air Taxis, want to be the protagonist of new Urban Air Mobility and create new solutions for Regional Air Mobility.
In conjunction with electric or other types of innovative propulsion, VTOLs also have the potential to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint in terms of emissions and noise.

Helicopters have been used in urban areas for many years. Famous are HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) a vital way of transport to quickly airlift seriously injured people to emegency.

EASA (European Unione Aviation Safety Agency) developed a complete set of dedicated technical specifications in the form of a Special Condition for VTOL aircraft. The Special Condition addresses the unique characteristics of these products and prescribes airworthiness standards for the issuance of a type certificate to ensure that VTOLs are following necessary safety requirements. The Special Condition, published in July 2019 launched the framework for manufacturers to develop innovative VTOL.

Easa is now in the process of creating new rules and revising existing ones to address new technologies, operational air transport concepts, flight crew and operator licensing requirements with the objective to be agile and to adapt the regulatory framework to be in line with Performance-Based Regulations principles.

As the EASA Executive Director, Patrick Ky has said: “We are actively engaging with the industry to develop the right technical requirements to take benefit of the new technologies bringing safety and environmental benefits to the community. The establishment of a common set of conditions for the certification of these new aircraft concepts will enable a fair competition on the European market as well as clarity for future manufacturers and their investors.”