Urban Air Mobility pioneer Volocopter received recognition as a Design Organization Approval (DOA) from EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency. This happened after a series of rigorous investigations by the agency. The Design Organization Approval (DOA) is a confirmation by EASA that Volocopter is developing in a controlled and safe manner. As a design organization, Volocopter meets the highest safety standards in development and also gains a clear competitive advantage in terms of development and approval speed. Volocopter is the first eVTOL start-up to receive a DOA for the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) development scope.

EASA is the aviation authority and regulator of the European Union with the mission to ensure the highest level of safety in aviation. If EASA issues a DOA that is determined by a set of rules and defined processes, this is a great vote of confidence and a special distinction. The agency approved the company as a whole. This means that individual projects can be specifically checked and brought to final approval in a leaner scope. Result: A design organization can then carry out its own developments more quickly. In the case of Volocopter, this means a clear competitive advantage in the global environment.

“Receiving the recognition from EASA speaks volumes about our professional processes, the world-class team and the high priority that we give to safety at Volocopter!” Says Jan-Hendrik Boelens, CTO and Head of Design Organization at Volocopter. “The Design Organization Approval is a central step on our way to commercial approval and brings flight taxis as a complement to current mobility at your fingertips!” Said Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter.

EASA only issues the DO status after a thorough review of the company with regard to organizational structure, processes, resources and employee expertise. Central aspects that are checked by the authority in advance are clearly defined and must be mapped using targeted processes, lived everyday and anchored in the security awareness of the organization. The goal is to verify that the company is able to launch a safe aircraft.

The approval as a development company, which Volocopter received today, can be expanded with specific privileges in the further course. These can include permission to independently release changes to the aircraft, through to the independent issuance of flight permits for prototypes in order to carry out the test and approval flights of the Volocopter flight taxis. With the approval, Volocopter is one of the largest aviation companies such as Airbus SAS; Dassault Aviation, Leonardo SpA, BAE Systems, ADAC Luftfahrttechnik GmbH or Lufthansa Technik, who are already design organizations.

Patrick Ky, Executive Director of EASA says, “Delivering the first design organization approval with the VTOL development scope is a milestone for the whole industry. We are excited about the successful cooperation and that our security standards are now an integral part of the emerging air taxi market. ”

In the middle of the year, EASA had completed and published the Special Condition VTOL , the world’s first certification basis specifically for flight taxis. Volocopter is already in the certification process for the VoloCity.