May 19, 2026
On
May 19, Kazakhstan officially launched trials of a new mode of
transportation—the air taxi. The first demonstration flight took place in
the city of Alatau, according to the Kazinform news agency.
An
open area near Almaty, along the national highway, was selected for the test
flights. It is here that the country’s first vertiport—a special takeoff and
landing site for eVTOL aircraft—is being built. In the future, this site will
be home to the UAM Center Eurasia and Kazakhstan’s first full-scale vertiport.
The
presentation featured the AutoFlight PROSPERITY model. The electric air taxi is
designed for six people—one pilot and five passengers. The aircraft’s maximum
speed ranges from 200 to 250 km/h, with a flight range of up to 200 kilometers.
The wingspan is 15 meters, the length is 11.6 meters, and the height is 3.3
meters.
Today,
the aircraft is flying without passengers for safety reasons. Event
participants watched the demonstration from a special viewing platform.
Kellen Xie, Senior Vice-president of the Chinese company AutoFlight, noted that the
electric model can be used not only for passenger transport but also for cargo
delivery, firefighting, and emergency operations. According to him, the eVTOL
is significantly quieter than a helicopter and does not require a traditional
runway. He cited rapid connectivity between different locations without the
need to build large-scale airfield infrastructure as one of the technology’s
key advantages.
Marat
Sultangaziyev, governor of the Almaty Region, speaking at the event’s opening,
noted that the launch of the test center in pilot mode will serve as the
foundation for the development of a new transportation system. According to
him, such technologies are not yet being used on an industrial scale anywhere
in the world.