Saudi Arabia has launched the world’s first self-driving flying taxi. The taxi will facilitate the transport of pilgrims between holy sites, apart from providing logistics services.
Minister of Transport and Logistics and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Aviation, Engineer Saleh Al Jasser inaugurated the self-driving flying taxi at the Holy Sites. The electric car taxi service, one of its kind, will be used experimentally to transport pilgrims between Arafat, Mina, and Muzdalifah in this year’s annual pilgrimage.
These flying taxis will be used mainly for emergency services, as well as for the transportation of medical and food supplies meant for the Hajj pilgrims at the Holy Sites.
“Today we are witnessing the activation of one of the most important initiatives of the roadmap to enable advanced air mobility, as the use of its modes, including air taxi, is characterized by reducing the travel time of passengers within crowded areas, especially for emergency cases,” he said.
These flying taxis will also transport pilgrims in emergency situations. Al Jasser said that the initaitve is part of the effort to adopt cutting-edge transport technologies powered by artificial intelligence.
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“The initiatives and projects of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services work to employ modern and advanced technologies, whether air taxi technologies, electric cars, or hydrogen trains,” he said. The innovation in transportation also align with Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 that aims to revolutionise the country.
Al Duailej stated, “Today marks the activation of one of the most important initiatives of the roadmap for enabling advanced air mobility. The use of its modes, including the air taxi, reduces passenger travel time in congested areas, particularly in emergencies, facilitates the transportation of goods and medical supplies, and speeds up surveillance and inspection tasks through drones.”