LILIUM BECOMES THE FIRST EVTOL MANUFACTURER AND EASA CERTIFICATION BASES

For a few years now, American electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) manufacturers Joby and Archer Aviation have stood alone at the top of the FAA's air taxi certification totem pole. Now, a German rival is joining them.

A few months after Archer's Midnight and Joby's JAS4-1 earned FAA G certification bases, clearing a path to full certification for the firms' flagship aircraft, Munich-based Lilium received its own certification base on Monday 26 June 2023. With the watershed approval, the seven-seater Lilium Jet is now the only air taxi with certification bases from both the FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). However, Lilium is working primarily with EASA, from which it received its initial CRI-A01 certification basis in 2020. But it is also one of the few eVTOL firms targeting dual certification with the FAA under the provisions of the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between US and EU aviation authorities. At present, the company says it is on track to launch global operations under these approvals by late 2025.