German company Volocopter performed a first flight of its electrical air taxi in France at a show in Le Bourget airport and said it aimed to have a service in operation for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

The flying taxi, which looks like a tiny helicopter, took off at Bourget airport near Paris and then landed vertically after a three-minute flight. It had no passengers on board, according to Reuters.

It flew some 500 meters in the air at speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour and was around 30 meters above the airfield, Voorlooper said in a statement.

It has the capacity for two people on board and a luggage compartment.

"The clear intention for Paris 2024, the objective is to actually have a regular service in operation," Volocopter Chief Executive Florian Reuter said. "That's a challenge."

Reuter said the flying taxi service would initially be operated by a fully licensed pilot in order to comply with existing regulations.

"Over time... we want these vehicles to fly fully automated, so you will not need a pilot license anymore," he added.

Reuter described the urban mobility market as "gigantic".

"Urban mobility is a more than 10 trillion-dollar market," he said. "We estimate that, by 2035, we can serve a market that has around 300 billion dollars in opportunity."

Sources

German firm's air taxi aims to be operational for Paris 2024 Olympics