eVTOL test routes in Germany as soon as 2026?

January 21, 2025

As numerous eVTOL OEMs nudge closer to certification, governments around the world are turning increased attention to how they might enter service; integrating operational considerations, vertiport provision, safety standards and crew training requirements into an entirely new segment of aviation. Revealing Germany’s new AAM strategy, Federal minister for digital affairs and transport Volker Vissing has now set out a timescale towards nationwide AAM operation by 2032.
Although the national strategy takes a platform-agnostic approach, Vissing nevertheless believes that “German companies and universities are world leaders in eVTOLs,” a lead he intends to “use and expand”. This perhaps seems at odds with the state’s refusal to extend a ‘lifeline’ $50 million loan guarantee to the subsequently-bankrupt Lilium last October, followed by rival German eVTOL developer Volocopter’s insolvency filing late last year; both of which highlight the challenging nature of bringing an aircraft to market. However, with the minister “convinced that [eVTOL craft] will be present in a variety of application areas in the near future,” four phases of AAM operational development have now been identified.
Integrating “existing and new research programmes,” the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) is to set up real-world ‘laboratories’ to explore AAM operations, with the initial contract to be awarded as early as the beginning of this year – defined as “a research project in which the essential components of Vertiports in German cities will be developed”.
Initial test routes (using as-yet unspecified aircraft types) will be flown in 2026, and by 2028, the BMDV intends to designate “narrow geographical areas in which eVTOL, UAS and other aircraft can be operated simultaneously”. These will be extended to “limited” areas by 2030, incorporating the introduction of regional traffic, while nationwide AAM operation is expected by 2032.
“The AAM will not be an elite project for business travellers, but of the entire benefit to society,” stressed Vissing, highlighting the ability of transport drones and eVTOL craft to better serve regions that can not currently be served easily by conventional means of transport.
With the BMDV to also create a Q&A document for AAM companies and potential investors, “we’re doing this today in order to secure Germany as a business location for tomorrow,” concluded Vissing.