The prospect of tiny helicopters flying around cities first popped up in Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction film Metropolis, but has never truly taken off.
However, a desire by French President Emmanuel Macron to ensure Paris can be shown to be at the forefront of technology and enterprise when the Olympics come to town in 2024 has made it a reality.
While former British prime minister Boris Johnson stuck on a zip-wire was an enduring aerial image of the London Olympics, visitors to Paris may see Mr Macron take to the skies in a flying taxi.
They are expected to whizz passengers over the city's rooftops on a jaw-dropping journey past its historic buildings, below 500 metres, before gently landing them on a specially built pontoon beside the River Seine.
The battery-powered aircraft have been developed by Germany’s Volocopter and will provide the world's first commercial flying taxi service.
Technically known as an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, it has body of a conventional helicopter but instead of rotors, it is powered 18 whirling battery-powered propellers.
Dirk Hoke, Volocopter’s chief executive, believes the Paris debut of its air taxi will display technology to the world and mark the dawn of a new era of "urban air mobility".
“This will change the world as we know it,” Mr Hoke told The National.
“Even if it doesn’t happen in one or two years, we will see it slowly ramping up towards the end of the decade and we will see a full acceleration in the 2030s.”
There are now dozens of companies at various stages of developing the aircraft and investment bank Morgan Stanley estimates the market for such planes could be $1.5 trillion by 2040.
But it looks like the VoloCity will steal a march on them, flying two routes in Paris from five new "vertiports".
One goes right into the heart of the city and the other between two of its airports.
The VeloCity at a test 'vertiport' in Paris before next year's Olympics. Volocopter
At each vertiport there will be passenger terminals, with the showpiece location being the platform by the river.
Mr Hoke is excited by the prospect of seeing the VoloCity take passengers on the memorable ride into the heart of Paris.
“The most thrilling one in my opinion is the one flying into downtown because helicopters are not allowed downtown,” he said.
“That’s spectacular and something that’s going to be really exciting. I’m really looking forward to it.”
VoloCity will have a pilot and just one passenger on board – like the world’s first commercial flight in 1914 – with just enough room for hand luggage.
The six air taxis, with a range of 35km, will operate eight to 10 hours a day with dozens of flights each during daylight hours.
Batteries can be swapped in and out in five-minute pit stops to keep the craft in the air.
In the meantime, Mr Hoke is confident VoloCity is on track to obtain a safety certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency. It has so far undergone 1,500 test flights.
Dirk Hoke believes we're at the dawn of a new era in flight. Volocopter
“There’s no risk that we can delay our certification into 2025 and I guarantee we will get our certification in 2024,” he said.
“And it's not just some ministers who expect us to fly at this time, it’s also the French President.”
Having an air-taxi service at the Games was an idea Mr Macron was keen on to promote France as a tech start-up country.
Mr Hoke said Mr Macron was taken by the idea of urban air mobility as a way of demonstrating that to the world during the Games.
He has been pictured beside a VoloCity plane along with Mr Hoke, who invited him to be an early passenger.
“If we are commercially certified, I can’t see a good reason why this could not potentially be the case,” Mr Hoke said.
Volocopter has been conducting test flights at Neom. Volocopter
But he admits there is work to do to convince an often-sceptical public about the safety of the VoloCity.
“We understand people might be scared but the only way to convince them is for them to see us, like in Paris," Mr Hoke said.
"We have always done surveys of people before test flights and afterwards, and before it’s 50-50 and after they have witnessed it’s above 80 per cent.”
Volocopter is a company with big ambitions. It already has 700 staff and has secured a reported $762 million in investment, with the company valued at $1.7 billion.
In April the company opened its first assembly line, near Stuttgart in southern Germany, capable of producing 50 aircraft a year.
German engineer Mr Hoke joined the company in 2022 from Airbus, where he was chief executive of its defence and space division. He says he jumped at the chance to make history.
"How often do you get the chance to say your company is the first to do a commercial flight of a new concept? For me it was one of the reasons I joined Volocopter."
The routes that will be flown in the city Volocopter
In June, Volocopter completed a series of flight tests in Neom, the futuristic city being built in Saudi Arabia, as part of the kingdom's push towards sustainable and smart mobility.
By the end of 2026, Volocopter will have developed six-seat aircraft with the aim of offering commuters the chance to beat the traffic, said Mr Hoke.
By the end of 2030 it hopes between 5,000 and 7,000 aircraft every year will be rolling off the production line.
Mr Hoke says that with the world moving towards a situation where 70 per cent of its population will soon live in cities, these aircraft will meet the demand for clean transport.
“The problem is that many of these cities have no option to grow their mass transportation systems," he said.
“So they will need alternatives because their streets are not the solution.
“If everyone has one or two vehicles our infrastructure will not be able to cope with that, so we will need totally new mobility concepts and we will be one that allows you more freedom.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, views a VoloCity aircraft with Dirk Hoke, to his right.
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Power: 727hp
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THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book:I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened. He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia. Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”. Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
