PARIS: Test flights of so-called flying taxis — futuristic drones capable of transporting people — have been scrapped in Paris during the Olympics as the certification for the engine has not come through, its promoters said on Thursday.
German manufacturer Volocopter has been conducting test flights in the Paris region for several years and had lobbied hard for authorization from European authorities in time for the Olympics.
The company has partnered with French airport operator ADP, the capital’s metro and bus operator RATP, and the Paris regional government.
Certification for VoloCity, the engine conceived and made by Volocopter, had been delayed by a few weeks over its motors, ADP deputy CEO Edward Arkwright said.
“We are a little disappointed, but in any case we had said that we would not make any compromises with security,” he added.
Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke said the delay was due to “an American supplier who was not capable of providing what he had promised.”
He said the motors would be sent back to France next week but not in time for the test flights to be held in Paris before the Olympics close.
Initially, test flights had been due to take place during the Games, landing on a float on the Seine near the Austerlitz railway station in southeastern Paris.
The promoters had hoped to use the global draw of the Olympics to show that the technology could efficiently link “vertiport” take-off and landing sites.
However test flights without passengers will be held in the aerodrome of the suburban town of Saint Cyr l’Ecole, west of Paris, on Thursday and Sunday, they said.
The town is close to the Chateau de Versailles where Olympic equestrian events are being held.
Backers tout flying taxis as a low-carbon form of aviation and hope future larger versions could be used as ambulances or in other roles.
However, many city officials in Paris have derided the plans as harmful to the environment.
Paris ‘flying taxi’ test flights scrapped during Olympics
https://arab.news/2zm4j
Paris ‘flying taxi’ test flights scrapped during Olympics
- German manufacturer Volocopter has been conducting test flights in the Paris region for several years
- Certification for VoloCity, the engine conceived and made by Volocopter, had been delayed by a few weeks over its motors
‘Our work will go on’: UN vows to continue as Trump withdraws from dozens of international bodies
- US president ends participation and funding for 31 UN and 35 other organizations he says operate contrary to American interests, security, prosperity or sovereignty
- Budget contributions ‘are treaty obligations,’ says UN spokesperson. ‘Member states who signed on have to pay the dues. The UN Charter is not a la carte’
NEW YORK CITY: The UN said on Thursday that its work will continue despite an announcement by the US late on Wednesday that it was withdrawing from 66 international organizations, including 31 UN entities.
“Our work will continue,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the UN headquarters in New York.
“The secretary-general respects the sovereignty of each of the members of this organization, and he also strongly believes that the challenges that we face today can only be solved through international cooperation. That’s been his view since he started on day one. It continues to be his view.”
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed federal agencies to halt participation in, and funding for, 31 UN institutions and 35 other international organizations that, in the view of his administration, operate contrary to national interests, security, economic prosperity or sovereignty of the US.
Notable UN programs affected include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Children and Armed Conflict program, which works to protect children in war zones.
In a statement, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his regret over the US decision, and pointed out that contributions to the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets remain legal obligations under the UN Charter.
“All United Nations entities will go on with the implementation of their mandates as given by member states,” Guterres said.
“The United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us. We will continue to carry out our mandates with determination.”
Asked whether the US would still be required to pay its assessed contributions despite withdrawing from the UN programs, spokesperson Dujarric said obligations under the UN Charter were clear.
“Contributions to the budget, the regular budget and the peacekeeping budget, are treaty obligations — the operative word being obligations,” he said.
“Member states who signed on have to pay the dues. The UN Charter is not a la carte. The UN itself is not a la carte. It’s an organization of 193 member states and two observer states. It is in the interest of all these member states to defend the principles that they themselves have created.”
Dujarric stressed that the UN was prepared to handle the financial and operational challenges posed by the US withdrawals.
“We’ve been managing under this financial pressure for some time,” he said. “It’s very complicated. Our comptroller doesn’t sleep at all as he tries to keep the lights on in this building.”
The UN will continue its work on climate change, protecting children from violence, and the promotion of gender equality, he added.
The Trump administration framed the withdrawals as a restoration of American sovereignty and the end of spending taxpayer dollars on what it termed ineffective or ideologically driven global programs.
Trump previously withdrew the US from the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the UN Human Rights Council. The White House said such moves would allow US authorities to refocus resources on domestic priorities, including infrastructure, military readiness, border security and the protection of American businesses abroad.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the organizations affected by the withdrawals as “redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and general prosperity.”
The administration would continue to review other international organizations for possible withdrawal under Executive Order 14199, he added.
Dujarric, asked whether the secretary-general was surprised by the scale of the US withdrawals, said: “In terms of what’s going on in the world today he’s beyond the term ‘surprise’… He continues, with calm and determination, to (do) his work and defend the Charter and this international institution.”
