Up, up and away: Passenger-carrying drone to fly in Dubai

Friday, February 10, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 6

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Up, up and away: Dubai hopes to have a passenger-carrying drone regularly buzzing through the skyline of this futuristic city-state in July.

Mattar al-Tayer, the head of Dubai's Roads & Transportation Agency, made the announcement on Monday at the World Government Summit.

The drone — a Chinese-made EHang 184 — is an egg-shaped craft with four legs sticking out, each with two small propellers.

The rider punches in a destination on a touch screen in front of the passenger seat, then the drone would fly there automatically.

The drone, which has a half-hour flight time, will be monitored remotely by a control room on the ground.

EHang did not respond to a request for comment. In May, authorities in Nevada announced they would partner with EHang to test the 184.