(Yicai) Nov. 19 -- China will launch pilot commercial operations of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in six cities, according to a senior official.

Sun Weiguo, director of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Working Committee of the China Air Transport Association, disclosed the pilot program plan at the e-flight-forum in Kunshan yesterday, without disclosing the names of the cities.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the cities are Hefei, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Suzhou in eastern China and Chengdu and Chongqing in southwestern China.

Yicai learned that Hangzhou has already put into use the first batch of public eVTOL sites providing takeoff, landing, battery charging and swapping, equipment storage, and cargo loading and unloading services.

EVTOLs are significantly cheaper to operate than helicopters and much faster than ground logistics, making them more suitable for commercial applications, an insider from an eVTOL manufacturer told Yicai. They do not require pilots or runways and have lower manufacturing and maintenance costs.

"Going forward, the government needs to promote the construction and management of electric flight infrastructure, such as charging stations and helipads, as well as flight route planning," Qu Fang, an investment advisor at Wanlian Securities, told Yicai.

To achieve mature eVTOL commercial operations, many technical challenges need to be addressed, including accelerating the development of solid-state batteries, advanced technologies, high costs, and safety risks, Qu explained.

"But with the expansion and maturity of eVTOL market applications, these issues will be gradually addressed and solved," Qu believes.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione