The year 2024 seems like the year for flying taxis. Passengers flying into Rome will be able to avail the services for their ride to the city center. This will only become a reality if the project between the company operating its main airport and a German startup starts on schedule.

As per a Reuters report, Startup Volocopter is hopeful of making the Fiumicino Airport a pioneer site for airborne taxis. The taxis will be rotor-bladed, battery-powered and will be a two-seater affair.

Aeroporti di Roma (AdR) CEO Marco Troncone said the journey to the city center will be reduced by 30 minutes in the aircraft that takes off and lands vertically. As compared to 45 minutes that is taken in a car or any other medium, a flying taxi will take 15 minutes.

While the initial cost of a ride will be around 150 euros ($175). However, a price drop is expected once the service goes mainstream.

“The connection will be very swift,” he told Reuters at Fiumicino, where Volocopter was showcasing a prototype. “It will be a silent journey and … the level of emissions will be zero.”

Founded in 2011, Volocopter is hopeful of getting a commercial air licence from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) within three years. Volocopter’s Chief Commercial Officer Christian Bauer said that they will start its operations once they receive the license.

Behind Paris, Rome is the third most suitable European city. Volocopter said that they will be trying to get the services up and running in time for the Olympic Games.

In an October 26 Reuters report, it was said that the airports in Rome, Venice and Bologna and on the French Riviera teamed up to create a company for flying taxis.

The infrastructure will be known as vertiports and will be used to deploy battery-powered aircraft.

Atlantia’s Aeroporti di Roma, Aeroporto di Venezia, Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna and France’s Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur said their company will be open to other industrial, technology and financial partners.