The distinguished Minister of Transportation and Logistics and Chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia, Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, embarked today on testing the self-driving air taxi in the holy sites.
The test was carried out with the presence of several senior officials, including His Excellency the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Transportation and Logistics, Dr. Rami Al-Rami, His Excellency the Director of General Security, Major General Mohammed Al-Bassami, and representatives of relevant authorities. The vertical electric aircraft witnessed the first takeoff of a certified air taxi in the world, approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. The services that can be provided through this type of aircraft, such as transporting pilgrims between the holy sites, assisting in emergency situations, transporting medical equipment, and providing logistics services through cargo transport, were showcased.
The Minister of Transportation and Logistics affirmed that launching the air taxi test is part of the transportation and logistics system initiative to implement future transportation technologies, adopt new and innovative environmentally friendly models with the help of artificial intelligence applications, and enhance the sustainability of the modern transportation sector to achieve the goals of the National Transportation and Logistics Strategy in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Emphasizing that national strategic initiatives and projects in transportation and logistics aim to use modern and advanced technologies, such as air technology, electric vehicles, and hydrogen-powered trains.
He further stated that the ministry is working on enhancing smart mobility, developing regulations and laws, and systems that enable the utilization of modern technologies, while also providing test environments to incorporate various future transportation technologies. He pointed out the great and unlimited support from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince – may God protect them – for the projects and initiatives of the transportation and logistics system.
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Duailej, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, explained that the sector is striving to improve all services in the civil aviation field according to the directives of the wise leadership. The sector works on integrating efforts with other government entities to provide all facilities to serve the guests of the All-Merciful with ease and comfort.
He added that today we are witnessing the activation of one of the most important initiatives of the advanced air mobility road map, where the use of modes such as self-driving air taxis reduces passenger transit times within congested areas, especially in emergency situations, facilitates the transportation of goods and medical supplies, and speeds up surveillance and inspection tasks through unmanned aerial vehicles.
It should be noted that the air taxi test is part of the initiatives of the transportation and logistics system being implemented in this year’s Hajj, and is part of a series of 32 modern technologies that the system is applying. These efforts come within the commitment of the system to adopting modern technologies and employing them in serving the guests of the All-Merciful.
