Saudi Arabia introduces air taxi service as Hajj season begins

RIYADH – The government of Saudi Arabia has introduced a self-driving aerial taxi for the transportation of pilgrims between the Holy Sites of Mina, Muzdalifah, and Arafat. 

The kingdom’s Minister of Transport and Logistics and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser inaugurated the self-driving flying taxi on Wednesday.

The electric air taxi service, the first of its kind in the world, is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. The electric plane Lilium is one of the first aircraft driven entirely on electric power.

Commenting on the service, GACA Chief Al-Duailej said that the unmanned aircraft will be used during this year’s Hajj season mainly for emergency services, as well as for the transportation of goods and medical supplies meant for the Hajj pilgrims at the Holy Sites.

“Today we are witnessing the activation of one of the most important initiatives of the roadmap to enable advanced air mobility, as the use of its modes, including air taxi, is characterized by reducing the travel time of passengers within crowded areas, especially for emergency cases,” he was quoted as saying by the Saudi Gazette. 

The launch of the service implies that the government is adapting itself to modern technological trends and is prioritizing the logistics sector in the backdrop of the annual Hajj season. 

The authorities in the kingdom, under the command of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, have set ambitious goals for the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The kingdom is looking for ways to enhance the areas of smart mobility and develop legislation, laws, and regulations that enable the use of modern technologies.

It is to be noted that the air taxi service is one of the initiatives of the transportation and logistics system among the 32 modern technologies implemented for this year’s Hajj.

Earlier, Saudi Airlines also revealed plans to operate flying taxis in the future to airlift Hajj pilgrims between King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and hotels in Makkah. 

The government of Saudi Arabia is trying to diversify the revenue streams of the kingdom and to make progress in the aviation sector for which a new airline Riyadh Air has also been launched.