Munich Airport and Nuremberg Airport to become hubs for Lilium operations

 

Munich, April 19, 2021 - Lilium, positioned to be the global leader in regional electric air mobility, with the development of its electric vertical take-off and landing jet, has agreed that Munich Airport and Nuremberg Airport will become hubs for a proposed regional air mobility network in Bavaria. This news follows on Lilium’s planned hubs in North Rhine-Westphalia and Florida, with the first passenger flights projected to take place from 2024 onwards.

 

Based on agreements in principle with the landing site operators, Lilium has undertaken extensive preparatory work, covering site search, structural implementation and airspace integration, use cases and routes. This partnership will offer all-electric connections, with each of which can transport six passengers between different locations across Southern Germany.

 

"I am very pleased with our successful partnership with the two airports. Of course, we are doing everything we can to bring our all-electric and ultra-quiet airline service to our home base of Bavaria, as well as to link Munich and Nuremberg even more closely with neighboring cities and regions," explains Daniel Wiegand, CEO of Lilium. "We also want to offer a service for everyone in the Southern German region, with attractive prices and great time savings for all travelers. Munich and Nuremberg airports are key mobility hubs that we will connect with large and small cities throughout the region over time."

 

"eVTOL aircraft are a fascinating and promising addition to the mobility of the future and thus are triggering completely new planning and solution possibilities. We therefore support efforts to add this particularly environmentally responsible dimension to air mobility. With the Air Mobility Initiative Bavaria as part of the High-Tech Agenda Plus, we are making 100 million euros available in the coming years for research and development for new forms of urban air mobility," explained Bavarian State Minister Florian Herrmann. "The Bavarian state government sees great potential for quiet, emission-free and fast mobility in optimized networking of individual transport systems."

 

Munich and Nuremberg airports also welcome Lilium's commitment: "Improving the connectivity of Munich Airport will be one of our most important future goals, once the repercussions of the pandemic have been overcome. We look forward to welcoming more efficient links between the airport and regional and long-distance rail services. Here, the planned Bavarian Lilium network offers interesting prospects, because small electric aircraft can contribute to better connectivity in the area as a supplement to feeder traffic," emphasizes Jost Lammers, CEO of Franz-Josef-Strauss Airport Munich.

 

Michael Hupe, Managing Director of Albrecht Dürer Airport Nuremberg, on the project: "The people and companies of the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region demand mobility. As a transportation hub and northern Bavaria's gateway to the world, we have established many opportunities for people to travel here. It is important to promote and establish new forms of sustainable mobility at our location. Since several transport corridors meet in Nuremberg, many ground-based transport systems are heavily congested. This gives the location enormous potential for such an innovative product.”

 

In March, Lilium announced its first serial aircraft, the 7-Seater Lilium Jet, with a maximum range of 250+ km and a cruise speed of 280 km/h, with zero operating emissions. It has been in development since 2019 and received its CRI-A01 certification basis from EASA last year. The first aircraft is expected to come off the production line next year. With a capacity for six passengers and a pilot, it is projected to provide industry leading capacity for both passengers and cargo.