An “absurd” project, an “ecological aberration”… For once, Parisian elected officials from the left and the right agree to express their opposition to the project of experimenting with flying taxis on the Seine, a file supported by the Aéroport de Paris (ADP) for the 2024 Olympic Games.
ADP, with its partners the German manufacturer Volocopter and the Ile-de-France region, wants to take advantage of the Olympic showcase to experimentally operate electric flying taxis on three airlines (between Paris-Roissy airport and Le Bourget , from the Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport on the one hand towards the Saint-Cyr-l’Ecole aerodrome, near Versailles, and on the other hand towards a barge on the Seine near the quay of Austerlitz.).
To minimize nuisance, this link will fly over the Seine towards the east to the Porte de Bercy, then head back towards the west above the ring road. The objective is officially “to experiment with a new mobility offer in very dense urban areas”. The controversy, which began last September, summarized in four sequences.
Act 1: the reservations of the Environmental Authority
On September 8, the Environmental Authority (AE) deemed the impact study of the future experimental flying taxi base planned on the Seine at Austerlitz for the Olympic Games “incomplete”, citing in particular its acoustic consequences.
In an opinion issued on this file, the AE calls on the manager of Ile-de-France airports to “reconsider the scope of the project and that of the analysis of its effects to fully appreciate the consequences on the affected populations and the possible impact on the natural environment. The AE considers that “the impact study, focused on a few aspects, was incomplete by choice of the project owner, who limits the scope of its analysis to the sole operation of implementing the platform on the river” .
For the authority, the challenges of the project are both “acoustic”, linked to “energy consumption and (to) greenhouse gas emissions”, without forgetting “visual pollution due to the multiplication of aircraft in an area previously prohibited from overflight. “The project also presents challenges in terms of security and safety for the populations it flies over,” she notes.
In the process, Groupe ADP said it took note of this opinion and promised to “respond to all of the observations in the coming month”. In a statement sent to AFP, the manager also notes that “a public inquiry will take place on this experimental project in November-December 2023”. The “VoloCity” machines, which look like large insects, crowned, for their two-seater models, with 18 rotors, are four times less noisy than helicopters, Volocopter also assures.
Act 2: the negative opinion of the elected officials of Paris
As part of this environmental assessment, Parisian elected officials are issuing a negative opinion to the Paris Council on Tuesday, November 14 on the creation of the take-off and landing platform which would be fixed to the quay of the port of Austerlitz.
“There is nothing wrong with this project […]a totally useless and hyper-polluting gadget for a few ultra-privileged people in a hurry”, deplores Dan Lert, deputy for ecological transition at Paris town hall. Councilor Florian Sitbon (PS) also criticizes an “absurd” project dubbed by the State and the Ile-de-France Region. “To save a few minutes for a few wealthy people in a hurry, ignorant and contemptuous of the climate emergency, we would pollute the atmosphere, we would destroy the sound environment,” he denounces. Communist advisor Jean-Noël Aqua criticizes an “ecological aberration” coupled with “social separatism”, recalling that it will be necessary to pay “the modest sum of 140 euros for 35 km”.
The Les Républicains (LR) mayor of the 15th arrondissement of Paris Philippe Goujon, for his part, recalls his ambition to permanently close the Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport. “The consumption of these flying machines, nearly 190 kWh per 100 km, is two to three times higher than a car with a thermal engine to transport a single passenger,” adds Claire de Clermont-Tonnerre, from the Changer Paris group, bringing together LR, centrist and independent elected officials.
Act 3: opposition from mayors of neighboring municipalities
In a press release published Thursday, November 16, left-wing elected officials, mayors of districts or municipalities bordering Paris and regional councilors, also call to “abandon” this flying taxi project “in favor of investments useful to the greatest number of people and not to a few.
These elected officials regret not having been informed in advance, unlike Paris. “None of the suburban municipalities crossed were informed in advance of this project and all are excluded from the geographical scope of this public inquiry. This is unacceptable!” they criticize.
Since November 6 and until December 8, residents of the Ile-de-France region can give their opinion on the experimentation with flying taxis and the creation of a vertiport on the Quai d’Austerlitz on the site. digital-register.fr. However, as specified by BFMTVthe project’s investigating commissioner will have six offices to answer their questions, all located in the 12th and 13th arrondissements of Paris.
“However, the flying taxis will fly over the territories that we represent and their inhabitants at a height of 150 meters above obstacles on the ground. Three takeoffs-landings per hour are planned at most over a time slot of 10 hours per day, i.e. 1900 flights during the 8-month experimental phase”, denounce these elected officials.