Sri Lanka Begins Five-Month Trial of EHang Pilotless Air Taxi

What changed

Sri Lanka has authorised Chinese manufacturer EHang to test its pilotless, two-seat EH216-S electric air taxi after a demonstration flight in Colombo. Ports and Aviation Minister Anura Karunathilaka and deputy Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku were its first passengers, with testing expected to last about five months before possible commercial approval.

Why it matters

The proposed route is simple: airport to central Colombo, a trip that takes about 30 minutes by car. The aircraft is built for short hops, with 16 motors, 16 propellers and 12 battery packs; its reported endurance is about 25 minutes and its range up to 30km.

That makes this less a flying replacement for ordinary taxis than a tightly defined airport link. The machine’s limits fit the route, but they also leave little room for delays, detours or operational surprises. Whether the service becomes commercially viable will depend on what the five-month test shows, and commercial approval is not guaranteed.

Sri Lanka is now positioning itself among more than a dozen countries testing passenger-drone services. The striking part is not that the aircraft flew once in Colombo. It is that the government has put a timetable around finding out whether a pilotless aircraft can move from demonstration spectacle to everyday transport.