A "first of its kind" trial has taken place in the skies above Canterbury - and it might mark a new chapter in air travel.
Wisk describes itself as "a leader in advanced air mobility" on its website.
The trial saw uncrewed aircraft fly in controlled airspace.
"The successful completion of these trial test flights in New Zealand demonstrates that safe, uncrewed flight operations are possible, today, in controlled airspace among other piloted aircraft," a statement announcing the results said.
Catherine MacGowan, Wisk's Asia Pacific director, told Breakfast this morning: "This is really exciting."
The planes are electric and self-flying with four seats. They take off and land vertically.
"What we've been doing down in Christchurch is practising some of the procedures that will support the way these aircraft operate in the future, getting into controlled airspace," MacGowan said.
"The aircraft are equipped with all of the safety requirements to make sure they keep the passengers safe, other airspace users safe, and they're supervised by a crew on the ground who monitor the flight and make sure that everything goes according to plan."
It's like a tram car in the sky, she explained.
"The aircraft is able to conduct the entire flight itself, and in fact it's able to detect if something unusual happens and respond, and keep everyone safe – so think of it more like supervising a very predictable type of flight activity.
"We're really focused on a high level of safety for our aircraft, so in the future when these aircraft come to market, towards the end of this decade, they will meet or exceed the safety standards that we have for passenger aircraft today," MacGowan said.
"What we're developing is a four-seater air taxi, if you will... we're expecting to be operating by the end of this decade."
SHARE ME