Passenger drone maker has announced that its Guangdong subsidiary, Guangdong EHang General Aviation and and joint venture partner in Hefei, Hefei HeYi Aviation, have been granted the first batch of Air Operator Certificates for civil human-carrying pilotless aerial vehicles by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Naturally, the company is ecstatic about this development.

“This milestone officially marks the launch of China’s human-carrying flight era in the low-altitude economy, allowing citizens and consumers to purchase flight tickets for low-altitude tourism, urban sightseeing, and diverse commercial human-carrying flight services at related operation sites in Guangzhou and Hefei,” EHang said. 

In the future, operators will also gradually expand into more other applications, such as urban commuting based on operational conditions legally and compliantly. 

“The issuance of the first batch of OCs sets a new benchmark for the low-altitude economy and urban air mobility and further unleashing a more powerful vitality of the new-quality productive forces.”

The parent company itself has already achieved multiple certification breakthroughs, including the world’s first type certificate, standard airworthiness certificate, and production certificate for pilotless human-carrying eVTOL aircraft. 

Now, with the newly granted OC, EHang becomes the world’s first eVTOL company to achieve the full suite of regulatory certifications – which marks a giant stride toward the commercialisation and mass adoption of low-altitude passenger drone services.

Going ahead, the company says it will look to collaborate with more partners to expand commercial operation sites, establishing additional low-altitude transportation operation centers in Guangzhou, Hefei, and other regions across China.

These efforts will support local operators in applying for OCs for commercial passenger drone services, enabling more cities to launch regular low-altitude tourism flights, urban sightseeing, and a wider range of commercial human-carrying flight services for the public.