Hong Kong may get passenger drones by 2027, keep arms inside the aircraft

Hong Kong has been easing into the drone era politely. First medical deliveries. Then a few food runs. Very civilized. No airborne chaos. No dystopian sky traffic jams yet but the city is clearly done with baby steps.

At the Airspace Asia Pacific 2025 event at AsiaWorld Expo, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mable Chan, made it clear that the city wants to be more than just “drone friendly.”

Hong Kong now wants to be a regional heavyweight in the low altitude economy, which is policymaker language for “we intend to own the sky below the clouds.”

Considering Hong Kong’s legendary traffic, vertical real estate, and obsession with efficiency, the idea of moving people upward instead of sideways almost feels inevitable. The ground is full. The air is still available. For now.

Yes, passenger drones are on the timeline

Here is where the sci fi soundtrack quietly fades in.

As Timeout Hong Kong reports, Dominic Chow, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation, Hong Kong declared that we could see passenger carrying drones as early as 2027. He gave a two to three year estimate at a recent conference in Beijing, which in aviation planning terms is basically next week.

These aircraft would be tested under Hong Kong’s Regulatory Sandbox X, a framework that allows heavier unmanned aircraft, eVTOLs, and passenger drones to stretch their wings without immediately tripping over regulation. Think of it as a controlled playground for very expensive flying robots.

Cost is one of the biggest talking points. Passenger drones are expected to be far cheaper than helicopters. To put that in perspective, helicopter flights in Hong Kong can run anywhere from about $2,300 per passenger for group tours to over $41,000 for private charters, depending on how exclusive you want your Instagram post to be.

Passenger drones are expected to cost only a fraction of that. Suddenly air travel becomes less “CEO only” and more “business casual with a helmet.”

Everyone wants a piece of the sky

Hong Kong is not racing alone. Spain is testing emergency response drones. Dubai plans to launch flying taxis by 2026, because of course Dubai does. Shenzhen already treats drone deliveries like normal logistics, not DroneXL news anymore.

What sets Hong Kong apart is timing and positioning. As a global financial center embedded in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, it has access to capital, manufacturing, and regulatory muscle all at once. Few regions can move from concept to reality without drowning in paperwork first. And they have something very useful for this kind of experiments: money muscle.

If the plan holds, Hong Kong’s skyline may soon include something new. Not just skyscrapers, but quiet electric aircraft slipping between them, carrying commuters who are very glad they are not on the MTR at rush hour. What do you think about this?

Flying private cars might still belong in old cartoons. Flying commuters, however, are starting to look uncomfortably real.

DroneXL’s Take

Passenger drones are crossing the line from novelty to inevitability. The real challenge is not technology, but trust, regulation, and whether people are comfortable outsourcing their commute to a flying algorithm. The time we saw a passenger drone from Aura Aerospace tested in the US, the results were kinda …flammable. The fire department WAS NOT happy.

Hong Kong is betting that efficiency will win that argument. Given the city’s relationship with traffic and time, that is probably a safe bet. Just don’t expect anyone to clap when the drone lands. This is Hong Kong, after all.

Photo credit: Xinhua