Airbus pauses development of CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL program  

Airbus announced on January 27, 2025, that it is pausing the development of its CityAirbus NextGen electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. 

Developed under the umbrella of Airbus Helicopters, the CityAirbus NextGen was the European manufacturer’s flagship project in the field of advanced air mobility. 

The CityAirbus NextGen is an all-electric eVTOL aircraft, which, once fully developed, is expected to be able to carry four people (three passengers and a pilot) over distances of 80 km and at a cruise speed of around 120 km/h. 

The suspension announcement comes barely two months after an uncrewed CityAirbus NextGen demonstrator conducted its first test flight at Airbus’ testing ground in Donauwörth, in Bavaria, southern Germany. 

The CityAirbus NextGen program will not come to a sudden stop, though. The test flight program is expected to continue during 2025 before the suspension becomes effective. 

Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, highlighted the uncertainty over the capabilities of the current generation of batteries as the key reason for the suspension of this program. 

The pause to Airbus’ in-house eVTOL project adds to the woes of the European advanced air mobility sector which has seen two of its most prominent players, Lilium and Volocopter, run into serious financial difficulties over the last few weeks. 

Unlike other eVTOL developers, Airbus has always shied away from making promises about specific development time frames. For example, speaking at the Revolution.aero conference, which took place in London in June 2024, a CityAirbus representative refused to commit to a specific launch date, highlighting the need to make realistic technology assessments. 

AeroTime contacted Airbus Helicopters for further comment. The post Airbus pauses development of CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL program   appeared first on AeroTime.

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