Green air mobility spotlighted at Paris Air Show

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Green air mobility, represented by air taxis and trainer aircraft with carbon-free power systems, is a major highlight at the ongoing 55th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, underscoring global de-carbonization efforts.

The air show, running from June 16 to 22, is participatied by about 2,400 exhibitors from 48 countries and regions. Organizers expect the total vistior numbers to hit 300,000 this years.

One of the highlights at this year's show is new developments in air mobility, with next generation air taxis almost ready to take flight.

Unveiled at the show, it is the newest way of getting from A to B - but in the sky.

The Eve Air Mobility flying taxi is expected to enter service in 2027, after securing substantial funding from some of the world's biggest aerospace companies, including Embraer, which has been assisting with development, design and certification.

While the Eve Air Mobility taxis haven't yet taken flight, orders for them are sky high, with 2,800 units already sold due to increased demand for sustainable travel.

"This aircraft is all electric. It's got four blades to reduce the sound and vibration. There's no emissions from the aircraft whatsoever and during the manufacturing process the aircraft is equipped with a water-based paint, so it's water soluble," said Steve Brecken, communications and public relations leader of Eve Air Mobility.

From taxis to trainer aircraft, sustainability features are pulling in big sales.

Since securing European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification just five years ago, France-based Elixir Aircraft now has a backlog of more than 300 orders.

French pilot training school ENAC signed for 30 Elixir aircraft.

"Our objective is to decarbonize the training of future commercial pilots. So we have major innovation on the way we build the aircraft today that allows us to reduce by 70 percent the impact, the CO2 impact of the training for future commercial pilots," said Arthur Leopold-Leger, founder of Elixir Aircraft.

As greener alternatives continue to emerge within the aviation sector, the industry goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 seems increasingly attainable.

Inaugurated in 1909, the biennial Paris Air Show is the world's largest in the aerospace sector, embodying excellence, innovation, and international cooperation in the industry. 

Green air mobility spotlighted at Paris Air Show

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight