‘Air Taxis’ assembly unit to be set up in Odisha by Bumble Bee Flights

Bhubaneswar: Bumble Bee Flights Private Limited, a Bengaluru-based start-up, is all set to manufacture air taxis and set up an assembly plant in Odisha.

The start-up has been founded by air mobility expert Arjun Das.

The start-up has managed to raise a whopping Rs 300 crores (37 million dollars) from UK-based SRAM & MRAM Technologies & Resources to establish a self-driven air taxi assembly unit. The company received the investment during the recently-concluded Make In Odisha Conclave 2022.

The first prototype of the futuristic taxi to transport humans is scheduled to be launched in April 2023, while production of the air taxis will commence in 2024. These air taxis would operate on solar-charged swappable batteries. In comparison to helicopters that weigh 1,000 kg or more, the Bumble Bee air taxi (Bee1) would weigh around 300 kg.

According to Bumble Bee Flights, these electric vertical take off and landing air-crafts are the future of urban mobility. Air taxis are expected to become the norm by 2035. About 10 per cent of the transport and communication will be managed by these, streamlining daily commute, reducing pollution, and saving a lot of time.

According to a Morgan Stanley report, the global urban air mobility market is projected to grow 30 per cent annually between 2021 and 2040, reaching $1.5 trillion by 2040.

These taxis would have the capacity to carry one person along with a suitcase and can land even on the rooftop of apartments, unlike helicopters that need specific helipads, as per the company.

They can fly for 20 minutes for a distance of 20 km, it added.