FIRST PILOT TESTING OF FLYING TAXI

[Anchor Lead]

The first piloted test of a flying taxi was conducted in Korea on Thursday. Flying taxis could soon become a reality, making it more convenient to move from airports to downtown areas.

[Pkg]

​An aircraft on a taxiway... The pilot appears nervous as he prepares for the flight. The propellers start spinning. The large aircraft weighing more than 500 kg begins to soar into the sky. Communication with ground control continues through a telecommunication network. After flying 3 km at 50 m above the ground, the aircraft makes a safe return. This is the so-called flying taxi, also known as more accurately, the "drone taxi." It's currently being developed as an urban air mobility system of the future. It's the first instance of such flying object transporting people in Korea. As its name suggests, it takes off and lands vertically like a drone using propellers. This method was developed using German technology. There is also an air taxi being developed using domestic technology. Korean researchers in Goheung, where the Nuri rocket was launched into space, are developing a more advanced model that can carry five or more passengers.

[Soundbite] Chung Ki-hoon(Korea Aerospace Research Institute) : "The tilt-rotor type, which we are being developed now, can fly longer distances and at a faster rate like other aircrafts."

It will take only ten minutes to reach downtown Seoul from Gimpo Airport by urban air mobility at the speed of 200km an hour.

[Soundbite] Chung Ki-hoon(Korea Aerospace Research Institute) : "Passengers will be able to move from Gimpo Airport to the Hangang River and further to Jamsil area just like using a bus, taxi or the subway."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to set up air taxi stations in various parts of Seoul and a telecommunication network so that this innovative transportation means can be utilized as public transit.