PRESS: Yandex.Taxi wants to add helicopter hailing to app

MOSCOW, May 30 (PRIME) -- Online taxi hailing service Yandex.Taxi, the Moscow city government, manufacturer Russian Helicopters and supplier of technical solutions for air traffic NITA have started talks on calling helicopters via a mobile application, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday, citing a source.

Passengers would be delivered to a heliport by a car. Helicopters would be available for hailing via Yandex.Taxi from the Moscow Automobile Ring Road to the Moscow Region and then from the Garden Ring, the source said.

Yandex.Taxi confirmed discussion of the idea, adding that it plans to sign an agreement of cooperation with the three aforementioned partners in August at international aviation and space salon MAKS.

Ilya Mikhalchenko, director of servicing at RH Technologies, a unit of Russian Helicopters, confirmed that Russian Helicopters, Yandex.Taxi, and NITA are in talks to create a system of city air transport.

“The project is supposed to result in creation in Moscow of a full-fledged air taxi, included in the public transport system,” Mikhalchenko said, adding that helicopter VRT500, which is being designed, would be used in the project operated by an independent company.

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