Spanish-made 'flying taxi' could be taking off 'within five years'

A 'FLYING taxi' unveiled at the World ATM Congress in October could be transporting passengers as early as five years' time, inventors Umiles have revealed.

Now dubbed Integrity, the pod-shaped drone – powered by four other drones – will be capable of distances of up to 300 kilometres and carrying up to five people at a time.

Invented by Spanish firm Tecnicalia, the national mobility company Umiles bought the patent for the 100% electrically-powered vehicle which the latter's CEO, Carlos Poveda, says would be able to connect Valencia, Barcelona and the Balearic Islands by air.

Speaking at the 'flying technology' fair Expodrónica, Poveda called it a 'drone of drones'.

“It's a drone made up of four different drones with four different engines which act independently of each other, achieving high stability, which translates to passenger and air-space safety,” the Umiles leader explained.

“At the moment, our initial model is only designed to carry one or two people, but by the June 2022 Expodrónica fair, we expect to be able to showcase a model with space for five people plus the pilot.”

He admits that the model displayed to date does not fly.

“It's still a prototype, but after we've finished the test runs, the final model will be airborne,” Poveda assures.

Umiles' aim is for the Integrity to be running 'tourist flights' for the first time somewhere between 2026 and 2030.

The photo above shows the Umiles 'flying taxi' model designed by Tecnicalia on display at the World ATM Congress a month ago.