German flying taxi start-up Volocopter has flown its air taxi at an event in Stuttgart. It is the first time the air taxi prototype has flown in an urban area in Europe, but it has flown in a number of demonstration flights around the world. The unmanned flight lasted a few minutes.

The flight was a highlight of a two-day event "Vision Smart City – Experience future mobility today" hosted by Daimler.

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The event saw the presentation of technical innovations and sustainable transport concepts for future mobility at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: "Our partner Volocopter shows how an air taxi is turning the dream of driving into the dream of flying. At Daimler we work on the mobility of the future, too. The road to climate-neutral mobility is a joint effort of companies and politics."

Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH said: "Our Volocopter air taxis open up a completely new dimension in urban mobility. As Stuttgart has seen today, they fly safely, quietly and are fast approching the implementation stage. Volocopter air taxis are able to ease traffic congestion in major cities around the world, also here in Germany."

The event in Stuttgart was part of an initiative of a research project by the Technical University of Stuttgart to examine the social acceptance of air taxis.

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The Volocopter 2X is a German two-seat, optionally-piloted, multirotor (18) electric helicopter. The company maintains that the successor 'VoloCity' will become the first commercially licensed Volocopter, developed according to the high standards and requirements of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The company says it will have a 35km range and maximum airspeed of 110km/h.

See also: Geely to bring Volocopter flying taxis to China