Madrid, March 13, 2024.
- ANZEN Engineering, a leading company in System Safety & Reliability engineering for the aerospace and defense sectors, explains how, when, and why these aircraft’s arrival into our everyday lives—and why we’re not flying them just yet.
Forget The Fifth Element or Blade Runner—air taxis are no longer a science fiction. They are quickly becoming a real-world innovation, with global efforts underway to define their safety certification standards. The goal? To have them operating in our daily lives by 2030. But how will they work, and what real benefits will they bring to our daily lives and to the protection of our planet?
Javier García Romillo, Senior System Safety Engineer at ANZEN Engineering, outlines the five key insights into the future of air taxis —insights that will reshape how we think about mobility.
- Goodbye mail trucks, hello drones
While we’re all eager to hop on board an air taxi, the first ones to fly them won’t be passengers —but your online orders. From marketplace packages like Amazon to prescription medicines and even mail-in ballots, drones will lead the way in air-based logistics —especially in rural areas. So, keep your phone ready: your mom’s birthday gift delivered by a drone might just become your next viral social media moment.
- Traffic jams? Not anymore
Initially designed for major urban centers, air taxis will help alleviate congested city roads. Even if hybrid and electric vehicles grow in popularity nowadays, urban pollution remains a serious concern due to continued emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered traffic.
Airspace offers more room than roads and shifting even a portion of commuter traffic to zero-emission air taxis could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protecting both urban air quality and the planet.
- From your home to the airport in 5–10 minutes
If you live in Madrid or Barcelona, you’re lucky. The first air taxi routes will link city centers to airports, allowing you to skip traffic stress and get to your flight in just minutes. A second phase would extend this to short regional trips, such as Madrid–Toledo or Madrid–Salamanca, transforming intercity travel.
- A sustainable form of transportation
One of the most compelling arguments for air taxis is their positive environmental impact. They’re 100% electric, produce zero emissions, and will contribute to reducing road traffic —one of today’s largest sources of atmospheric pollution.
- How will air taxis work? From the ground to the sky with a single tap
When, how, and for who? Air taxis are expected to hit the skies around 2030 —and all you’ll need is a mobile app and an affordable fare.
Just like summoning a rideshare today, users will input their location and destination. The system will plan the fastest route, possibly combining ground and air transport: a car picks you up, takes you to the nearest vertiport, and from there you board a shared electric air taxi headed to, say, Salamanca or Toledo —cutting travel time in half.
The Big Obstacles: Batteries and Noise
Still wondering why you’re not flying yet? According to ANZEN Engineering, the main challenges are battery performance and noise control —two deeply interconnected challenges for engineers worldwide.
To fly passengers across meaningful distances, these aircraft need long-lasting batteries. But battery weight can directly impact vertical takeoff performance, which is the most energy-consuming and safety-critical moment of the flight.
At the same time, manufacturers must comply with strict noise regulations, especially for urban deployment. Designing lightweight, powerful batteries and quiet propulsion systems demands cutting-edge innovation, from propulsion technology to route planning that minimizes disturbances to communities —even if that means higher energy usage.
Work on these challenges is already well underway, and if current projections don’t shift, air taxis could become a reality by around 2030.
Javier García Romillo, Senior System Safety Engineer at ANZEN Engineering, explains:“Certifying compliance with safety and reliability requirements is essential for the success of any prototype and its commercial deployment. Passenger-carrying drones will become part of everyday life only if we can fully guarantee and certify their safety —for passengers and for their environment. Even a minor failure could halt progress.
That’s why ANZEN Engineering’s contributions to groundbreaking projects like air taxis are essential to their viability. The regulatory requirements for air taxis are significantly stricter than, for example, those applied to self-driving cars or trucks —due to the higher risk posed by failures in airborne operations.
Our mission at ANZEN is to ensure that the most advanced aerospace innovations are not just possible —but safe and reliable for everyday use.”
About ANZEN Engineering
ANZEN Engineering is an international engineering company specialized in critical systems for the aerospace and defense sectors. Founded in 2019, it supports technically complex projects around the world, providing expertise in safety, reliability, airworthiness, ILS, cybersecurity, and MBSE. Its multidisciplinary team works with globally recognized standards, ensuring the certification and robustness of the platforms it supports. With a presence in Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East, ANZEN strengthens its position as a strategic, reliable, and independent partner committed to technical excellence and sustainable innovation.
Media contact
Raquel Parra
r.parra@iprisma.es
