Sri Lanka Test-Flew a Pilotless EHang Air Taxi — Would You Board It Over a Car?

On November 11, Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority let Chinese firm EHang fly its EH216-S — a pilotless, two-seater electric aircraft with 16 propellers — over Colombo, with the Ports and Aviation Minister as the first passenger. Testing is expected to run about five months before any commercial launch, with the eventual goal being an airport-to-city air taxi replacing a 30-minute car ride. Supporters call it the leapfrog Sri Lanka needs: no pilot to pay, no traffic jams, zero tailpipe emissions, and proof the country can host cutting-edge tech before bigger markets do. Critics point out the aircraft only flies about 25 minutes and 30km per charge, ask who answers if an unmanned aircraft carrying passengers fails mid-air over a crowded city, and wonder if this is just a flashy test flight with no real path to affordable, regular use. Would you step into an aircraft with no pilot and no one to grab the controls if something goes wrong, or do you want a human up front no matter how advanced the automation gets? And even if it works, who do you think will actually get to use it — tourists, executives, or eventually everyone stuck in Colombo traffic? ඔබ පයිලට් නැති ගුවන් යානයක නැගී යාමට කැමතිද?