China-based air taxi developer EHang has received crucial government certification to initiate commercial services with actual passengers in the country. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has issued a “Type Certificate” to EHang’s EH216-S aircraft, making it the world’s first fully certified electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi.
The CAAC accepted EHang’s application for a type certificate more than 1,000 days ago in January 2021. Since then, the EH216-S air taxi has undergone extensive laboratory, ground, and flight tests at professional aviation test sites across multiple locations in China.
The expert team at CAAC evaluated the EHang aircraft for over 500 parameters, including main material performance, structural strength, flame resistance, crashworthiness, gas toxicity, environmental conditions of equipment and systems, software simulation, data links, ground control stations, overall system functionality, electromagnetic compatibility, flight performance, as well as flight stability characteristics.
The safety, airworthiness, performance, functionality, usability, and reliability of the air taxi were further validated through more than 40,000 test flights for adjustments and formal conformity validation tests covering 65 major categories and over 450 individual test items.
As Huazhi Hu, the founder-chair and CEO of EHang, explains, “Our self-developed EH216-S passenger-carrying uncrewed aerial vehicle system has finally met high expectations to secure the first type certificate in the global eVTOL industry, marking a significant chapter in civil aviation history. Embracing the certification as our springboard, we will launch commercial operations of the EH216-S air taxis, prioritizing safety above all.”
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