China’s relentless push to remain among nations at the forefront of technological advancements was reaffirmed, as prepares to usher in a new era of public air transport with the mobilisation of air taxis.

2 Chinese companies have obtained the commercial operation certificate for autonomous passenger drones from CAAC.

The certificates enable the two firms to begin deploying flying taxi services, starting with short-distance routes for tourism and eventually expanding to larger networks, as per Newsweek.

It’s understood that China’s “low-altitude economy” is among the rapidly growing industries in the Asian country and is estimated to be worth upwards of 1.5 trillion yuan (US$207 billion) by 2025, with projections of its value doubling over the next decade according to a report by research group Hurun.

This economy is said to include innovations such as delivery drones, blimps, and flying cars is by the government as signifcant sector and key driver of economic growth, alongside emerging technologies like quantum computing, AI, and 6G networks.