Electrical vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicles do not fit existing airworthiness categories and the need for new certification regulations is often cited as a major barrier to enabling urban air mobility (UAM). So industry is welcoming Europe’s publication of the first certification rules for this new class of aircraft. But more remains to be accomplished before air taxis can begin flying above cities.
The European Aviation Safety Agency(EASA) released its final Special Condition for VTOL aircraft (SC-VTOL) on July 2. The certification rules apply to aircraft seating up to nine passengers, weighing up to 3,175 kg (7,000 lb.) and with distributed propulsion, defined as having two or more lift/thrust units.
The regulation establishes two categories of aircraft, Basic and Enhanced, with safety requirements proportional to the intended type of operation. Basic is for personal and rural use; Enhanced is for commercial air transport and flight over urban areas and sets higher safety levels. Enhanced requires the same 10-9 probability of catastrophic failure as commercial aircraft.
Industry developing standards for compliance with new regulation
Operating rules and FAA harmonization are key steps still ahead
“The publication of the SC-VTOL by EASA is a big step for the urban air mobility industry, and explicitly enables us to certify our aircraft for urban air taxi operations. The requirements regarding safety are among the highest in the industry and rightfully so,” says Jan-Hendrik Boelens, chief technology officer of German eVTOL developer Volocopter.
“Since current airworthiness standards may not address all the aspects of eVTOL vehicles that need to be considered, this special condition from EASA is a step forward in certifying eVTOL systems in Europe,” says U.S. manufacturer Bell.
The Special Condition was finalized after consultation with industry. Changes from the draft include increasing the gross weight limit from 2,000 kg to give manufacturers room for growth and align with the break point between existing certification regulations for small (CS-27) and large (CS-29) rotorcraft.
The next step is to develop industry standards that eVTOL manufacturers will use to show they meet the certification requirements. Two further steps will be critical: harmonization with the FAA and development of operating rules for eVTOLs.
German eVTOL developer Lillium wants to begin its own commercial air taxi service in 2025. Credit: Lillium

“We did not get our way with everything, but we are highly appreciative of the effort to produce one coherent set of rules for eVTOL,” says Kyle Martin, director of European regulatory affairs for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). “The primary need, particularly for European companies, is a basis for the design and certification of the vehicles. If they do not know the regulations, it will be a long process.”
EASA has tasked European standards organization Eurocae to work with industry to develop consensus standards for compliance. GAMA estimates 70% of industry standards developed for Part 23/CS-23 aircraft can be read across, but EASA wants the first unique vehicle-defining standards for SC-VTOL to be agreed on by year-end. “With a tailwind and goodwill, we can do it,” Martin says.
“One concern is we have not yet seen the FAA’s equivalent,” he says. So far, the FAA is taking a bespoke approach to eVTOL certification that is different for each applicant, issuing special conditions to cover the “delta” beyond existing Part 23 fixed-wing and Part 27 rotary-wing certification regulations. “That has its merits, but there is no one coherent rulebook. We hope that will be resolved.
“EASA’s safety requirements are ambitious. They have put a stiff requirement on industry to come up with safe designs,” Martin says. “They are looking at the long-term future, and saying if there will be hundreds of vehicles over an urban environment, they have to have a very high safety level. We might have preferred to start with a lower safety requirement and build up over time.” 
EASA was able to develop SC-VTOL in a year because a special condition does not require rulemaking. Still to be resolved are the rules governing how eVTOLs can be used and covering crew licensing, vehicle operations and maintenance. “These rules are all based on fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft, but SC-VTOL creates an in-between category that is neither,” says Martin.
“Implementing such regulations involves EU ‘hard law’ and could be a five-year process, although they could do derogation or exemption on a member-state basis,” he explains. A working group for new air operations has just been established to start development of the regulations. “We hope they will try to expedite the rulemaking process,” Martin says.