Service platform launched for low-altitude flights

A comprehensive service platform to manage low-altitude flights was launched on Thursday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, providing crucial support for the development of the low-altitude economy across the province.

The platform, launched during a conference on high-quality development of the low-altitude economy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, serves as the sole link for integrating and implementing data and control measures from national-level platforms and military and civil aviation information systems.

As the hub of the province's low-altitude flight service support system, the platform features four main functions, including low-altitude air traffic management, joint supervision, safety compliance and control, and user services.

The platform collaborates with various departments related to low-altitude operations for joint supervision, and coordinates low-altitude air traffic management and safety compliance across the province, providing cross-border, interprovincial and intercity low-altitude flight service support.

The platform pioneers an integrated supervision service model for both manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, involving military and civilian sectors, achieving a breakthrough in coordinated low-altitude management.

Guangdong, an economic powerhouse in South China, is home to over 30 percent of the enterprises engaging in the low-altitude sector in China, including household names such as DJI and EHang.

With the number of low-altitude enterprises reaching 15,000 across the province, Guangdong produced 6.94 million units of civil drones in 2024, ranking first in the country, according to the conference's organizers.

The robust industrial development has resulted in a low-altitude industry landscape characterized by a tri-core city interaction among Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, with the industry scale exceeding 100 billion yuan ($14.27 billion).

"We have made efforts in areas such as the low-altitude economy, technological innovation, infrastructure development and diversified application scenarios over the years, creating a favorable industrial ecosystem for the development of the low-altitude economy," said Zhang Hu, executive vice-governor of Guangdong.

During the platform launching event, a total of 64 projects were signed by companies, governments and industry associations from cities in the Greater Bay Area, with combined investment exceeding 20 billion yuan.

The projects cover several key areas including infrastructure, complete machine manufacturing, operation services, technological research and development, and cross-sector integration.

The Guangdong Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, in collaboration with several financial organizations, also introduced a series of financial measures during the conference, focusing on the financial needs of the low-altitude economic clusters.

For many years, EHang, which mainly targets short to medium-distance air travel, has primarily focused on creating an entirely new and normalized mode of transportation — urban air mobility, according to Hu Huazhi, founder, chairman and CEO of the company.

"We have done something quite interesting for the entire industry — as everyone knows, EHang has obtained the type certificate, airworthiness certificate, and production license, but this was an uncharted path," said Hu.

Over the years, the company, headquartered in Guangzhou, has not only focused on creating products, but also on developing a platform and completing the validation of its business model, Hu said.

"In the near future, which I mean in the next one to two years, or two to three years, everyone will likely be able to take an air taxi for short to medium distances, especially for traveling within cities and between cities," said Hu.

In October, EHang unveiled its next-generation VT35 long-range autonomous passenger eVTOL, capable of serving intercity, cross-sea and mountainous transportation routes.

The VT35 shares compatible takeoff and landing infrastructure with the well-known EH216-S, with an aim to form a seamless city-to-city product ecosystem.

"I believe that in a very short time, people will see more products and demonstrations of urban air mobility from EHang," Hu said.