01/12/2025
Last Monday, December 1st, the city of Zaragoza hosted the first large-scale demonstration flight in Europe using an unmanned cargo aircraft in an urban environment. The flight was carried out with the EH216 eVTOL drone from the company EHang, operated within the framework of the international project U-SAVE (Urban Supply Aerial Vehicles for Emergencies), promoted by a consortium co-led by AERA together with ALIA (the Logistics Cluster of Aragon).
The flight took place in Zaragoza’s Expo Zone, taking off from the Expo Amphitheater at around 10:00 a.m., and traveling to the Spain Pavilion. The EH216 aircraft simulated the transport of essential supplies, such as medical materials, in an emergency situation.
With this demonstration, the feasibility of using automated cargo drones for emergency, assistance, or logistics missions in congested urban environments—where traditional means may have difficulty accessing—is validated for the first time in a European urban setting.
The event marks the conclusion of the testing phase of the U-SAVE project, which has received funding from the European Union’s EIT Urban Mobility program and has involved an international consortium of specialized organizations and companies.
At AERA, we believe that this first urban flight highlights the potential of Urban Air Mobility as an efficient, sustainable, and rapid solution for the delivery of supplies in critical situations — a new dimension for resilience and emergency response in urban environments.
