Sri Lanka has given EHang the go-ahead to start testing its two-seat EH216-S pilotless eVTOL, officials announced on November 11 at a demonstration flight at Colombo Port City, according to reports from AFP and Sri Lankan media.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka said it had granted the Chinese company a licence to test the aircraft. Ports and Aviation Minister Anura Karunathilaka and Deputy Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku rode as the first passengers on a short flight.
Officials stressed that this is a trial, not the start of commercial service. Kodithuwakku told reporters that testing could run for about five months before commercial operations might be allowed, and that Sri Lanka is now part of a race among more than a dozen countries trying to introduce passenger-drone services.
What comes next
Promoters hope to eventually connect the airport with central Colombo, a trip of about half an hour by car. Officials have also pointed to aerial tourism, including flights to destinations such as Sigiriya and Pidurangala. The project will need coordination among several bodies, including the aviation authority, the Ministry of Defence, the Sri Lanka Air Force and the Port City Economic Commission, local outlet The Lanka Leader reported.
Sri Lankan officials described the EH216-S as having 16 electric motors and propellers and 12 battery packs, with a maximum take-off weight of 620 kg, about 25 minutes of endurance and a range of up to 30 km. It is flown without a pilot on board and monitored from a central control station.
The licence follows EHang’s August announcement that Sri Lanka would be the first country in its Global Fast Track Program, a structured path for introducing pilotless eVTOL operations abroad, with a sandbox zone centred on Colombo Port City.
Sources: AFP; The Lanka Leader; EHang.