Indonesia Assessed to Have Great Potential for eVTOL Adoption
Senior Vice President of AutoFlight Jia Xie (Kellen) assessed that Indonesia has great opportunities in developing and operating future air transport based on electric energy, or Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL).
“I see a very great opportunity for eVTOL in Indonesia because of the archipelagic geographical conditions,” said Jia Xie during a visit to Cengkareng Heliport in Tangerang, Banten, on Wednesday.
He said that Indonesia’s archipelagic geography allows eVTOL to function optimally, namely delivering passengers to their destinations more quickly and efficiently, as well as being able to leap over various geographical obstacles.
In addition, according to him, Indonesia’s large population of around 270 to 275 million people, a distance from west to east of approximately 6,000 kilometres, and tens of thousands of islands make land mobility to islands and between islands highly dependent on reliable air transport.
He said that under these conditions, the advantages of eVTOL are considered far superior to conventional helicopters because they offer more affordable maintenance costs, lower noise levels, and easier operation, making them more efficient for public travel.
“So, in terms of the advantages of eVTOL compared to helicopters, we think that eVTOL, especially in terms of cost savings, will be a more efficient way for people to travel,” he explained.
Jia Xie said that his company will collaborate in developing air transport technology with Indonesia through a partnership with Whitesky Aviation Group, a company focused on aerospace.
He added that before targeting the Indonesian market, eVTOL technology had already been developed and marketed to various countries around the world.
His company, according to Jia Xie, has sent its products to Japan, and a number of test flights have also been successfully carried out.
“In addition, similar trials and flights have also been conducted in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), Kazakhstan in Central Asia, and Panama to usher in a new era of future air mobility,” he said.