Bastille’s Story | Vision for Low-Altitude Economy : Air Taxis and Drone Control Towers

The SAR Government is pushing forward the development of the low-altitude economy. In the second phase of the "Sandbox X", some companies have applied to pilot manned electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, also known as "air taxis", and are pending for the SAR Government to formulate relevant legislation. In addition, there are also applications to establish an air traffic control system (UTM) to further promote the development of the low-altitude economy.

From left to right: Chairman of Owowww Alan Wan, Head of Engineering Services of Cyberport Dr Eddie Lock, Business Development Director of KC Smart Mobility Newton Ng. Photo by Bastillepost

The current application of drones mainly focuses on inspection and cleaning, for example, using drones to clean the outer walls and inspect the wires and railways. Last year, 38 testing projects were listed in the first phase of the low-altitude economy sandbox, with 32 having been implemented. According to the Civil Aviation Department (CAD)... 20 of the implemented projects are now more mature and low-risk, which are not used in high traffic areas, including the infrastructure examination and walls cleaning, and enter constant actual operation phase.

The next phase involves testing drones cross-border logistics, manned mission and UTM (Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management). The “Sandbox X” project, launched by the SAR Government on December 24 last year, focuses on five key applications including these.

Cyberport provides testing fields for both “Sandbox” and “Sandbox X” projects, Kwoon Chung Bus (00306) has applied for this low-altitude economy Sandbox X project with its eVTOL project.

Newton Ng, Business Development Director of KC Smart Mobility Company, tells Bastillepost that Kwoon Chung has reached cooperation with Mainland drones manufacturer EHang (Nasdaq: EH) to promote eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) in Hong Kong, which is a new electricity driven vertical aircraft without runway often referred as Air-taxi or Air-car. EHang has completed the first manned flight in Indonesia in the middle of 2025, its flagship product EH216-S also gained multiple permissions from CAAC.

Business Development Director of KC Smart Mobility Newton Ng. Photo by Bastillepost

Newton Ng says that EHang manned aircraft has been tested in the Mainland for many times, but it needed a fixed point test due to Hong Kong’s unique situation like the high building density. “We hope we can bring new technology and new travelling mode via eVTOL, ” says Newton.

When talking about the application of “Sandbox X”, Newton notes that although the drone cannot ride passengers currently, he hopes drones can really complete manned missions in the future to give citizens confidence. He also points out that eVTOL still needs to meet mant requirements in security and commercialization as a new traffic tool, and that details of commercialization, including security examination roles, technicians operation certificate and traffic rules for drones,  should be ruled by laws.

EHang completed its first manned flight in Indonesia last year. Photo from EHang official website.

Owowww creative, a company performing drone shows at Victoria Harbor, is also going to apply for the “Sandbox X” project. Last year, Owowww reached cooperation with Chu Kong Shipping Enterprises to use its Nansha bounded warehouse to develop cross-border logistics. Owowww also successfully developed the stable operation to do large-scale ensemble rises and falls performance on the ship and safe performance of drones carrying fireworks.

Provided by Owowww Creative

As for the “Sandbox X” project that Owowww is applying for, Chairman of Owowww Alan Wan introduces three applied projects including UTM, eVTOL and cross-border logistics. While conventional aircraft require instructions from airport air traffic control towers, the UTM can understand the air traffic control towers of drones and is responsible for managing drone traffic.

Chairman of Owowww Creative Alan Wan. Photo by Bastillepost

Dr Eddie Lock, Head of Engineering Services of Cyberport, which is  the field partner of low-altitude economy “Sandbox X” project, states that the most common problem discovered during the test of first round low-altitude economy “Sandbox” is the lack of a well-developed UTM. “We have spent so much energy managing the drone airport to make sure there is no interference nearby. However, the management will be much more difficult once the drones fly into the sky, ” he says.

Dr Eddie Lock, Head of Engineering Services of Cyberport

“If UTM is well developed, we can make good use of three-dimension space to sharply increase low-altitude economy benefits, which means that multiple drones can fly in one airspace,” says Dr Eddie Lock, “that is why we need to develop UTM in the “Sandbox X” project.”

Cyberport provides suitable drones airport and equipped infrastructures, including  charging and communication systems, for participating companies during the “Sandbox” and “Sandbox X”. According to Eddie, Cyberport has widely cooperated with CAD and Hong Kong Observatory, while CAD is mainly responsible for airspace management during the test, Hong Kong Observatory has the most advanced meteorological monitoring instrument to provide real-time data for participating companies to empower the tests.

Alan Wan from Owowww expresses his hope for the government to accelerate legislation to regulate eVTOL industry. As for the healthy development of the industry, he advises the government to fund an industrial fund, or cooperate with insurance companies to provide insurance service for infrastructure and operation of the industry. “In this way, the company cost can be cut down,” he says.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn’t abided by its own ceasefire, saying that air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday.

Five people were killed by a Ukrainian drone strike on the city of Dzhankoi in Crimea, according to Russia-installed Gov. Sergei Aksyonov. He reported the casualties just after midnight, but posted about the attack itself more than 90 minutes earlier.

There had been no official sign from Moscow that it would heed Kyiv’s ceasefire, and there was little hope for a pause in hostilities as the war stretches into its fifth year following Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war over the past year have come to nothing.

On Tuesday, Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine killed 27 people and wounded 120 others, all of them civilians, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. On Wednesday, two Russian drones hit a kindergarten in the downtown area of Sumy city in northeastern Ukraine, killing a security guard and wounding two others, officials said. No children were there at the time.

Russian attacks since last Friday have killed at least 70 civilians and wounded more than 500, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said Wednesday, as the strikes hit 14 regions.

“What is particularly alarming is both the scale of civilian casualties and the extent of territory affected in only a few days,” said Danielle Bell, the mission’s head.

The war has killed more than 15,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

Despite Kyiv's open-ended suspension of hostilities, Russia has continued shelling, with aerial strikes using drones and powerful glide bombs, and has attempted to break through Ukrainian defenses on the front line, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday on X.

“Russia’s choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives," Zelenskyy said.

“Russia must end the war it is currently waging,” he said, urging Moscow to call off its invasion. “The Russian side has our diplomatic proposals, and the only thing needed is Russia’s willingness to move toward real peace.”

Both sides have kept up long-range strike campaigns. On the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line, meanwhile, Russia's bigger army remains engaged in a slow-moving and costly slog against Ukraine's drone-heavy defenses.

Zelenskyy had announced the unilateral ceasefire after Russia said it would hold its own pause of hostilities on Friday and Saturday while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The Ukrainian leader said any breach of the ceasefire would trigger a military response.

European officials had welcomed Ukraine's unilateral move as a goodwill gesture illustrating its readiness for a peace settlement.

Russian forces launched 108 drones and three missiles overnight, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, with attacks continuing throughout the night and into Wednesday morning.

“Moscow once again ignored a realistic and fair call to end hostilities, supported by other states and international organizations,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

Moscow’s proposal to stop fighting later this week follows a pattern of Russia declaring short unilateral ceasefires during the war timed to coincide with various holidays, most recently Orthodox Easter.

Those suspensions of combat don’t produce any tangible results amid deep mistrust between the warring sides.

Sybiha said Russia’s actions exposed its calls for a separate ceasefire around May 9 as insincere. “Putin only cares about military parades, not human lives,” he said.

The diplomat called for increased international pressure on Moscow, including new sanctions, diplomatic isolation, accountability measures for war crimes and expanded military and civilian support for Ukraine.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, shows the site of an aerial guided bomb strike after Russia's air attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, people cover bodies of civilians killed in Russia's aerial guided bomb attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)