A helicopter fully loaded with passengers recently completed a test flight from Shanghai Pudong Software Park to Qidong Linyang Park in neighboring Jiangsu province, marking another step forward in low-altitude passenger transport development and connectivity advancement in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Flying across the Yangtze River and Chongming Island, the flight greatly reduces the transportation time between Shanghai's Pudong New Area and Qidong. While the trip usually takes one hour and a half by road, the helicopter flight only took 20 minutes, significantly improving logistics efficiency in the region.

The test flight also marks the start of the construction of a low-altitude transportation network in the YRD region. Linyang Aviation, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Linyang Energy Co Ltd, which specializes in low-altitude infrastructure construction and operation services, launched the route as a first step in building a comprehensive low-altitude transportation network across the region.

In collaboration with Shanghai Pudong Software Park and other partners, further plans are underway for additional low-altitude passenger transport routes connecting Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area, Jiading and Songjiang districts, Jiaxing in Zhejiang province, and Kunshan in Jiangsu.

Moreover, in excess of 100 helipads for helicopters and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft are set to be built across 45 cities, counties and districts in the region, which will complement regional connectivity with airports and high-speed railway stations and contribute to the construction of an integrated three-dimensional transportation network in the Shanghai metropolitan area, said the Pudong new area government.

With solid policy support and continuous technological advancement, the low-altitude economy in China has seen rapid growth and strong momentum in recent years. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the nation's low-altitude economy is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($207 billion) in 2025 and expand to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.

"Low-altitude transport is a core application scenario in the low-altitude economy, and many general aviation companies and local governments are making efforts in this sector. The traditional helicopter is currently still the main transportation equipment. Though with continuous technological advances and improvements in infrastructure and rules, low-altitude transportation using the new eVTOL aircraft will become a common option for the masses," said Dong Zhiyi, an expert on low-altitude economy.

Shanghai has been making efforts to boost the high-quality growth of its low-altitude economy. In August, the Shanghai government released an action plan for the sector, highlighting the construction of a comprehensive industrial system with a core industrial scale exceeding 50 billion yuan by 2027.

In November, the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission unveiled another implementation plan, aiming to establish at least 400 low-altitude flight routes by the end of 2027 to help achieve the city's ambitions of building a "city of sky".

wangxin2@chinadaily.com.cn