ADAC Luftrettung to trial eVTOLs from 2024

The two organizations signed a pair of agreements at this year’s Paris Air Show (19–25 June): the first outlines the purchase of an initial two VoloCity eVTOLs, while the second outlines ADAC’s intention to secure 150 additional units in the future.

The initial two eVTOLs will be used by ADAC Luftrettung from late 2024, where they will be trialed as supplementary aircraft in Germany, pending the receipt of a type certificate from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The aircraft will be stationed in the towns of Idar-Oberstein and Dinkelsbühl.

Upon the successful completion of these initial missions, ADAC will consider the acquisition of more eVTOLs for use in emergency medical service (EMS) operations.

The aircraft will be used as a supplement to traditional helicopters, rather than as a replacement. They are capable of transporting a pilot and an emergency physician to the scene of a medical incident, but have the advantage of being quieter, as well as producing less CO₂.

It follows a multi-year joint eVTOL feasibility study focused on EMS and rescue operations, in which both ADAC Luftrettung and Volocopter played a part. The study was sponsored by the ADAC Foundation, alongside the Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medical Management at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and found that eVTOLs could offer ‘significant tactical advantages, from a technical, sustainable, and operational standpoint’.

Rega also announced its own plans to develop an air ambulance version of the Aero3 eVTOL aircraft alongside manufacturer Dufour Aerospace.