Japanese startup SkyDrive, chosen as the flying car operator for the 2025 Osaka World Expo, has announced that they will decide to give up commercial operation of the vehicle during the event.
If the flying car is used to transport passengers to and from the fair venue, it would have been the first such operation of a flying car in Japan.
At the show, SkyDrive now plans to use its flying car, which is currently in development, only for demonstration flights, rather than carrying real passengers.
The SkyDrive flying car, a small electric plane, can take off and land vertically and can accommodate up to three people: two passengers and the pilot.
The company, based in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, has applied for certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration. The application was accepted on April 29.
SkyDrive now aims for the flying car to make its commercial debut in Japan in 2026 or later.
Three other Japanese companies – Japan Airlines, industry peer ANA Holdings and major trading house Marubeni – will also deploy flying cars at the Osaka Expo, which is being held on Yumeshima, a man-made island.
