Sharjah24 – Reuters: The French government has earmarked millions to make sure Paris will host the first Olympics with flying taxis.

Bloomberg reports that Paris is about to start testing electric air taxis and plans to have a fully functioning air taxi service by the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The flying electric taxis will be tested at a hub outside Paris, in an area called Pontoise. The city hopes to create two dedicated flight paths to ferry passengers for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.

One route will carry passengers via Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Le Bourget airports, while the second will travel between two suburbs southwest of the French capital.

Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the French minister delegate for transport, said in a statement that “the French State is fully committed to the financing, with nearly 25 million euros already provided for the development of flying taxis”.

He added that “all the ingredients for success are there, all that remains is to make it happen.”

In the U.S., a number of cities — including Los Angeles, Houston and Orlando — have already announced similar plans for flying taxis and other airborne urban mobility vehicles.