Elstree Aerodrome could be used as a hub to transport people in and out of London in “revolutionary” electric aircraft by the end of the decade.

The plug-in air vehicles, which have been coined as “flying taxis”, could involve multiple people being shuttled at a time between the aerodrome and helipads in the capital.

Flying taxis are passenger drones that are also known as urban air mobility vehicles.

It was revealed this month that Paris has become the first European city to begin test flights for air taxis, with commercial flights in a two-seater electric “volocopter” due to launch in 2024.

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Watford Observer: A Volocopter 2X landing in front of a Skyports vertiports terminal in Paris.A Volocopter 2X landing in front of a Skyports vertiports terminal in Paris. (Image: Nikolay Kazakov/Volocopter)

And Elstree Aerodrome could play a huge role if flying taxis are given the green light to operate in England.

Aerodrome owners Aldenham Aviation has been in talks with Skyports, which is a UK-based developer of infrastructure for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Aldenham Aviation says it has spoken to Skyports about leasing and licensing arrangements but no “firm” agreements have been reached yet.

It also stressed “several hurdles” must be cleared, including satisfying the Civil Aviation Authority, before entertaining the idea of flights taking off and landing at Elstree with passengers on board.

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Watford Observer: Elstree AerodromeElstree Aerodrome (Image: Newsquest)

There are no plans for any flight testing to take place at Elstree – instead this will happen in Bristol where an aircraft developer called Vertical Aerospace is based. 

However, the aerodrome, which already caters for private planes and helicopters, as well as budding pilots, is proposed to be a base for Skyports to test its ground-based technology and hardware.

Watford Observer: Elstree Aerodrome, which is the last licensed aerodrome in Hertfordshire, is shown on the map with the red marker.Elstree Aerodrome, which is the last licensed aerodrome in Hertfordshire, is shown on the map with the red marker. (Image: Google Maps)

Aldenham Aviation says it wants to “promote innovation in aviation” and says it is “proud” to be part of a consortium that recently received government funding from Future Flight Challenge.

The company said in a statement: “We hope to be able to agree a way in which Elstree can support this government-backed initiative to facilitate the advancement of aviation, provided we can ensure that this respects the operation of our existing tenants and their businesses and avoids any disruption to the local community.”

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