IKN Flying Taxi Is Already In Balikpapan, Ready For June 2024 Trial

IKN Flying Taxi (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Air taxi urban mobility vehicles or sky taxis planned to become showcases in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN) arrived in Balikpapan on Thursday, May 9.

Optionally Piloted Personal/Passenger Air Vehicle (OPTAV) flying taxis are vehicles developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and Hyundai Motors Company (HMC).

"The goods have arrived in Balikpapan, they will be opened next week and then assembled. After they are assembled, we will try later," said IKN Authority Head Bambang Susantono in his official statement, Wednesday, May 29.

The test vehicles sent in several pallets are currently stored at Semayang Port, Balikpapan. Meanwhile, the batteries for vehicles are already in Jakarta and are planned to arrive in Samarinda on June 6, 2024.

The opening of pallets and inspections will be carried out by Hyundai, East Kalimantan Customs and Excise as well as the IKN Authority at Aji Pangeran Tumenggung Airport (APT) Pranoto Samarinda in early June. The opening indicates that the temporary import permit management stage has begun.

"Friends in Samarinda can see later. Trial first. We see the trial is good or there will be no evaluation of performance. Technical evaluation is where I expect friends from the local academic community to also be involved," he said.

Bambang added that the opportunity to see and learn flying taxis is a valuable experience. "Not many people in this world have the opportunity to try flying cars," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy for Green Transformation and Digital Authority of IKN Prof. Mohammed Ali Berawi stated that the inspection and trial will be carried out according to schedule.

"In accordance with the Proof of Concept (PoC) schedule and the direction of the Head of the IKN Authority, assembly and inspection activities will begin in early June and continue flight trials in July 2024 ahead of the August 17 event at IKN. Trial activities will be carried out for a full month at APT Pranoto Airport Samarinda and through a series of feasibility tests and studies," he said.

Setelah uji coba KARI selesai, Hyundai merencanakan untuk mengembangkan skema bisnis dalam melalui Supernal, perusahaan dari Hyundai Motor Group di Amerika Serikat yang mengembangkan pesawat mobilitas udara kota.

Later, the development will be commercialized and continued to the development of autonomous flight technology.

"We also hope that with the formation of a technical team between Hyundai and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), we can develop this industrial technology massively in the future," he said.

The Head of the IKN Authority, Bambang Susantono, has signed a memorandum of understanding to build an Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem in Indonesia with the Hyundai Motor Company in Bali when the B20 Summit in 2022.