TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR PASSENGER TRANSPORT AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR PASSENGER TRANSPORT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for operating a transport system for passenger transport according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a transport system for passenger transport according to the preamble of claim 10.

[0002] The applicant is a pioneer in the field of manned aviation with electrically powered multicopters. These are vertical takeoff and landing aircraft featuring multiple electrically powered rotors that are particularly easy and safe to fly. Automated flight operations (without a pilot) are also easily possible. Such aircraft have the potential to revolutionize inner-city traffic in urban areas in the future and counteract the threat of traffic gridlock.

[0003] After the applicant has developed the first aircraft of the type mentioned to series production readiness, the task now arises, which also forms the basis of this invention, of improving the previously known transport systems for passenger transport, in particular in inner-city traffic, and of enabling an increase in the transport capacity for passengers, in particular in inner-city traffic.

[0004] US 2017 / 0197710 A1 discloses an on-demand passenger transport system and a method for controlling and monitoring such a transport system. The transport system comprises one or more vertically take-off and autonomously controlled aircraft that can take off and land at a plurality of handling facilities and whose flight routes are scheduled by a control system. Furthermore, the system comprises one or more hangars for servicing the aircraft, in particular for charging the batteries, and for parking unused aircraft.

[0005] US 2015 / 339930 A1 concerns DYNAMIC AIRCRAFT THREAT CONTROLLER MANAGER APPARATUSES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS ("DATCM") that convert flight profile information, terrain, weather / atmospheric data and flight parameter data via DATCM components into comprehensive flight plans optimized for hazard avoidance.

[0006] US 2014 / 032034 A1 relates to a control system for autonomous aircraft that transport goods and / or people between ground stations. The aircraft determine their own flight routes based on transport orders from a logistics system. The aircraft are equipped with sensors to detect environmental conditions to support landing procedures.

[0007] US 9,527,605 B1 discloses a system consisting of docking stations and aircraft. The docking stations are used to charge the aircraft and, if necessary, to pick them up during flight-impairing weather conditions. In the event of an emergency, a central control unit determines a suitable docking station for an emergency landing.

[0008] US 2016 / 364989 A1 relates to a system for supporting unmanned aircraft in transport, surveillance, and / or data collection activities. The system includes mobile base stations used as landing and recharging platforms for the aircraft, as well as a central control device for determining flight plans.

[0009] US 9,678,507 B1 discloses the surveillance of an area by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Each of these vehicles moves from one docking station to another, with the docking stations located at predefined locations within the region. Each docking station has a capacity for the aircraft, and when this capacity is reached, the aircraft are removed.

[0010] US 2016 / 260331 A1 relates to a flight control system that analyzes current and forecast weather data and flight data from unmanned aircraft and determines whether an aircraft can continue its current flight route. If the risk is too high, the control system steers the aircraft along a predetermined flight route to a base station, and the control system prevents the aircraft from taking off from the base station.

[0011] Particularly when existing passenger transport systems, such as bus or rail lines, no longer offer sufficient capacity or when faster passenger transport is desirable, costly expansions of existing systems are necessary, which typically require a large amount of space. Therefore, there is a need for a passenger transport system that can be implemented in addition to or as an alternative to existing systems and offers a high degree of operational reliability.

[0012] The present invention solves this problem by a method for operating a transport system for passenger transport according to claim 1 and by a transport system for passenger transport according to claim 10. Advantageous developments of the inventive idea can be found in the respective subclaims.

[0013] The method according to the invention is preferably designed for implementation by means of a transport system according to the invention, in particular an advantageous development thereof. The transport system according to the invention is preferably designed for implementation of the method according to the invention, in particular an advantageous development thereof.

[0014] A method according to the invention for operating a transport system for passenger transportation includes providing a plurality of vertical takeoff and vertical landing aircraft for passengers, providing a plurality of handling facilities for the takeoff and landing of aircraft, each handling facility having parking spaces for a plurality of aircraft, and establishing flight routes between the handling facilities such that each handling facility is connected to at least one other handling facility via a flight route. Continuous flight traffic of aircraft occurs on the flight routes, at least in one direction of flight, with automated takeoff, automated flight along the flight route, and automated landing.Furthermore, in at least a subset of the aircraft, preferably in all aircraft, environmental conditions are detected by sensors, at least by a fire detector, smoke detector, wind detector and / or precipitation detector.

[0015] A control system of the transport system automatically derives environmental conditions from the sensor data of the aircraft and automatically detects those environmental conditions that require an interruption of flight operations and the triggering of an emergency mode.

[0016] In the passenger transport system according to the invention, passengers are transported using automated flying aircraft. Compared to rail or road transport, there is therefore an additional need for safety precautions, since an interruption of flight operations due to a "stopping" of an aircraft, i.e., a stationary position, requires constant energy. Furthermore, external influences, in particular strong air currents caused by storms or gusts of wind or disruptions caused by precipitation such as hail, heavy rain, or snowfall, can cause a temporary interruption of air traffic on one or more flight routes. The control system therefore advantageously comprises a flight monitoring system, in particular as explained in more detail below.

[0017] Within the scope of the method according to the invention, in a normal mode at least a subset of the handling facilities, preferably all handling facilities each and constantly have at least one emergency parking capacity of free parking spaces for aircraft.

[0018] The emergency parking capacity, which is always available in normal mode, thus enables the interruption of flight operations in exceptional situations, for example due to the environmental influences described above, by allowing aircraft to land at the handling facility but then temporarily not take off again, but to park in a free parking space and remain there preferably until the interruption of flight operations is over.

[0019] The emergency parking capacity of free parking spaces meets at least one of the following conditions: a) Two handling facilities connected by a flight route have a shared emergency capacity of free parking spaces that corresponds at least to the number of aircraft flying on the flight route between the two handling facilities. Advantageously, the above condition is met for each pair of handling facilities connected by a flight route. This ensures that all aircraft on a flight route can be parked at the handling facilities connected by this flight route to interrupt flight operations on this flight route. b) The emergency parking capacity of a handling facility corresponds to the number of all aircraft simultaneously approaching this handling facility on a flight route of this handling facility.This ensures that, at any given time, all aircraft "in the air" can continue along the specified flight path and park at the designated destination handling facility. This ensures that, even when a handling facility is connected to several other handling facilities via multiple flight paths, air traffic can be easily interrupted: To interrupt the flight, the takeoff of further aircraft is prevented. Aircraft already on a flight path, however, complete their scheduled flight and, based on the aforementioned conditions, find a parking space at the respective destination handling facility.c) The emergency parking capacity corresponds to the sum of half the number of all aircraft simultaneously approaching this handling facility on a flight route and half the number of all aircraft simultaneously departing from this handling facility on a flight route. This condition allows for a more rapid termination of flight operations on a flight route compared to the procedure described above for condition b). Compliance with condition c) allows for the termination of flight operations by preventing further takeoffs of aircraft on the flight route in question and by allowing aircraft already on the flight route to fly to the closer of the two handling stations connected to this flight route.This can halve the time required to terminate flight operations, since in the extreme case with the procedure described under condition b) at least one flying aircraft must fly the entire or almost the entire distance of the flight route until it reaches a handling station with a parking space, whereas with the procedure described under condition c) it is sufficient to cover a maximum of half the distance of the affected flight route. However, in this mode it is necessary for some aircraft to reverse their flight direction, so that with bidirectional airlines parallel flight operations in the same direction are necessary until flight operations are completely terminated. With the procedure described under condition b), on the other hand, the flight direction specified in normal mode can be maintained.

[0020] According to the invention, in the emergency mode, for at least a subset of the flight routes, preferably for all flight routes, takeoff processes of aircraft at the handling facilities connected to these flight routes are stopped, and the aircraft flying on these flight routes land at one of the handling facilities connected to this flight route and are transported to a free parking space at this handling facility. It is particularly advantageous that the landed aircraft is automatically transported to a free parking space by means of a conveyor system of the handling facility. This eliminates the need for emergency personnel to park the aircraft in the emergency mode, and moreover, an efficient and rapid parking process can be ensured by providing an appropriately configured conveyor system. Such a conveyor system can be designed analogously to a rack storage system.In particular, such a conveyor device may comprise one or more of the components conveyor belts, automated gripper arms, automated transport platforms for an aircraft or a conveyor system for the suspended transport of aircraft.

[0021] If emergency parking capacity is provided in accordance with the above-mentioned conditions b), aircraft flying on the flight routes affected by the emergency mode shall have priority for landing at the designated handling facility in the direction of flight.

[0022] If emergency parking capacity is provided in accordance with the above-mentioned condition c), aircraft flying on the flight routes affected by the emergency mode shall land preferentially at the nearest handling station on that flight route.

[0023] A transport system for passenger transportation according to the invention comprises: a plurality of vertical take-off and vertical landing aircraft for passengers, a plurality of handling facilities for the take-off and landing of aircraft, each handling facility having parking spaces for a plurality of aircraft, a control system for the automated take-off and automated landing of the aircraft at the handling facilities and for the automated control of the aircraft along predetermined flight routes between the handling facilities. The control system is designed for continuous flight traffic of the aircraft on the flight routes. Furthermore, at least a subset of the aircraft, preferably all aircraft, have sensors for detecting ambient conditions, at least one or more of the sensors being a fire detector, smoke detector, wind detector, and / or precipitation detector.The transport system according to the invention also comprises the further features of claim 10.

[0024] According to the invention, it is therefore intended to increase passenger transport capacity by transporting passengers in aircraft along predetermined flight routes between handling facilities. The provision of a control system for automated takeoff, automated flight along the flight route, and automated landing allows any passenger to use the transport system without requiring special knowledge, training, or authorization to fly an aircraft. The continuous flight of aircraft enables the use of the transport system by a large number of passengers without the necessity of booking or assigning a specific aircraft to the transport request of a specific passenger.For passengers, the use of the transport system according to the invention for passenger transport is therefore fundamentally comparable to the use of a local public transport network provided by buses or trains: the provision of a plurality of handling facilities enables access to the transport system at a plurality of locations, whereby the passenger reaches a desired destination handling facility via one or more consecutive flight routes by automated flight in one or (by changing at handling facilities) several aircraft.

[0025] This transport system requires significantly less space than previously known public transport systems, as no infrastructure such as railway lines is required between the handling facilities along a flight route, and no additional traffic is added to existing infrastructure such as roads. The space requirement is determined solely by the area required for the handling facilities. In an advantageous implementation, existing structures can be used, or multifunctional structures can be provided, so that the required space is not used exclusively for the handling facility. This will be explained in more detail below.

[0026] Furthermore, the transport system according to the invention offers the advantage of enabling rapid passenger transport and thus achieving a high transport rate. This is facilitated by the fact that a flight route between two terminals is, in the best case, a "straight line," i.e., the shortest possible connection. Typically, the flight route between two terminals will be shorter than a comparable connection in the road or rail network of an existing infrastructure, even when avoiding any obstacles or no-fly zones.

[0027] Furthermore, the air traffic of the aircraft on the specified flight routes is not subject to the restrictions of road traffic, so that a significantly higher average speed can typically be achieved on the flight routes compared to the average speed of an analogous route in the existing road network.

[0028] The combination of the majority of handling facilities with the majority of aircraft and the provision of continuous, automated air traffic on the flight routes thus enables the creation of a significant expansion of capacity or alternatives to previously known passenger transport systems.

[0029] Advantageously, for continuous flight operations, a standard take-off frequency is specified for each handling facility, with which aircraft take off in a normal mode, and / or a standard distance is specified for each flight route, which represents the distance of an aircraft to an aircraft immediately ahead on the respective flight route in a normal mode.

[0030] Preferably, all aircraft fly at a uniform average flight speed. In particular, all aircraft preferably have the same cruising speed. This makes continuous flight operations possible in a simple manner, in particular maintaining a constant takeoff frequency and / or a constant distance from the aircraft immediately ahead.

[0031] It is also within the scope of the invention for the aircraft to have different cruising speeds on different flight routes, i.e., the typical flight speed excluding takeoff and landing maneuvers. For energy savings, it may be advantageous to specify lower cruising speeds on shorter flight routes than on longer flight routes. Different aircraft may also have different cruising speeds. This may be due, for example, to different aircraft types, since a given aircraft type generally has a cruising speed that is advantageous in terms of energy balance and / or flight stability. When using different aircraft types for the aircraft, it may therefore be advantageous to specify different cruising speeds.It may therefore be advantageous to specify a constant landing frequency at the destination point of a flight route and to adapt the take-off frequency to individual characteristics of the respective aircraft type, in particular the cruising speed and / or the time required for take-off and landing.

[0032] Advantageously, therefore, for continuous flight operations for at least one, preferably for all flight routes, one or more parameters from the list Take-off frequency, landing frequency, distance to the aircraft immediately ahead, average distance on the flight route between the aircraft, spatial average aircraft density on the flight route, temporal average aircraft density on the flight route, specified.

[0033] This allows the control system to easily specify the normal mode, i.e., the mode that ensures the desired transport capacity in the absence of malfunctions, emergencies, or special conditions. The transport capacity on a flight route is simply calculated by multiplying the number of aircraft flying on that flight route per unit of time by the passenger capacity, specifically the number of seats on the aircraft.

[0034] Normal mode is therefore the typical operating mode of the transport system, unless there are exceptions such as emergency situations or temporary special arrangements such as fleet relocations, which are explained in more detail below.

[0035] As previously mentioned, each handling facility is connected to at least one other handling facility via a flight route. Advantageously, at least a subset of the flight routes, preferably all flight routes, are bidirectional. This means that on a flight route between the two handling facilities connected by this flight route, aircraft fly in both directions. This has the advantage of enabling passenger transport in both directions along the flight route. It is also within the scope of the invention that, particularly in exceptional cases, aircraft fly in only one direction on a flight route between two handling facilities.

[0036] With bidirectional flight routes, it is advantageous that the same standard take-off frequency and / or the same standard spacing is specified in both directions. This has the advantage that, on average, such a flight route does not change the number of aircraft at the two handling facilities connected by the flight route, since, on average, the same number of aircraft approach a handling unit as depart from it on this flight route.

[0037] The transport system according to the invention is preferably designed as a closed network, so that the handling facilities are connected to one another exclusively via flight routes. Likewise, the transport system can be designed as a component of one or more higher-level and / or secondary networks, wherein at least one of the handling facilities and / or at least one of the flight routes is connected to an external flight route or external handling facility of an external network. Likewise, individual external handling facilities can be connected to the transport network according to the invention via one or more flight routes, in particular, can be embedded in the transport network according to the invention in this way.

[0038] Advantageously, the control system is further configured such that an emergency requiring the fastest possible landing of aircraft on one or more flight routes can be specified manually and / or automatically. In such an emergency, the aircraft on the affected flight route are automatically landed on the ground (and not at a handling facility). Such an emergency can occur, for example, if landing is not possible at the handling facilities associated with the flight route or if external influences absolutely require the fastest possible landing.

[0039] In an advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, a particularly energy-saving transport of the passengers is achieved in that at least a subset of the flight routes, preferably all flight routes, have a height difference between the highest and lowest point of the flight route of less than 100 m, preferably less than 50 m, in particular less than 30 m.

[0040] This is based on the recognition that the ascent of an aircraft requires considerable energy expenditure. Therefore, it is advantageous to cover the required distance of a flight route with the least possible ascent requirement of the aircraft. Such an energy-efficient flight route can be facilitated by ensuring that the two endpoints of the flight route have only a small difference in altitude, particularly within the previously specified limits. Furthermore, it is advantageous to select the flight route in such a way that no or only a minimal overflight of intervening higher objects or no-fly zones is necessary.

[0041] If such no-fly zones or objects to be flown over are located in the area of ​​the transport system, it is therefore advantageous to choose a flight route that side-steps such an object or no-fly zone, provided that the additional energy expenditure by extending the flight route is more than compensated by the energy savings due to the lower altitude difference.

[0042] Alternatively or additionally, it is therefore advantageous for at least a subset of the handling facilities of the transport system, preferably all handling facilities of the transport system, to have a take-off and landing option for the aircraft at a height of more than 50 m, preferably more than 75 m, in particular more than 100 m, above the ground. This already makes it possible to fly over lower objects or no-fly zones due to the predetermined take-off and landing altitude, without the aircraft having to ascend, or at least with only a slight ascent. It is therefore particularly advantageous for the handling facilities to be arranged in, or preferably on, high-rise buildings. This also enables the aforementioned multiple use of an area, resulting in an additional advantage in terms of space requirements compared to previously known local transport systems.

[0043] For the reasons stated above, the take-off and landing possibilities of the handling facilities, in particular preferably all handling facilities, therefore preferably have a height difference of less than 50 m, preferably less than 25 m, in particular less than 10 m.

[0044] In an advantageous development of the method according to the invention, at least one on-demand handling facility is provided, which is connected to a handling facility via at least one on-demand flight route. In this case, an aircraft flies along the on-demand flight route to the on-demand handling facility only as needed, in particular upon manual request by a passenger. This advantageous embodiment thus makes it possible to integrate rarely served destinations into the transport system. Typically, it is not economically viable to provide continuous air traffic for such destinations due to the low demand.By manually specifying such a destination, an aircraft can nevertheless, as an exceptional situation, be automatically controlled from a handling facility away from the flight routes with continuous air traffic on the aforementioned on-demand flight route to the on-demand handling facility, preferably by the control system of the transport system.

[0045] Such on-demand handling facilities can, for example, be installed at private residences where passenger transport is rarely required. This advantageous design thus enables the integration of private transport into the transport system with continuously operated flight routes.

[0046] Typically, in normal mode, there will be a constant need for transport, so there will usually always be a passenger waiting for a taking off aircraft. If no passenger is waiting and an aircraft should take off, for example due to a specified regular takeoff frequency or due to a specified standard distance to the aircraft immediately ahead, an aircraft takeoff can be omitted in a local and temporary departure from normal mode. This has the advantage that there is no energy requirement and no wear and tear caused by an unloaded aircraft. However, it does have the disadvantage that the average number of aircraft at the handling facilities changes due to such a local interruption to continuous flight operations.Compensation is therefore necessary by providing parking spaces and / or by locally suspending takeoffs of aircraft approaching these terminals. It is therefore advantageous for aircraft to take off continuously from the terminals, with or without passengers.

[0047] In an advantageous development of the method for operating a transport system for passenger transportation, a procedure for accommodating an external aircraft is provided. The external aircraft is integrated into the automated flight on a flight route. This advantageous embodiment thus creates the possibility of integrating an aircraft not previously located in the transport system, in particular an aircraft not monitored and controlled by a control system of the transport system, into the transport system. Such an external aircraft can, for example, be a manually flown aircraft or an aircraft controlled by an external control system.

[0048] To integrate such an external aircraft, continuous flight operations are preferably temporarily interrupted by preventing the takeoff of an aircraft, allowing the external aircraft to integrate at the now vacant position on the flight route. Advantageously, an aircraft is temporarily parked in a parking space at the dispatch station where the takeoff of an aircraft was prevented for the integration of the external aircraft.

[0049] Furthermore, it is advantageous that this or another parked aircraft is reintegrated into a flight route when the external aircraft previously integrated into the system leaves the system again.

[0050] Particularly convenient use of the transport system is achieved in an advantageous development of the method according to the invention by detecting a passenger's destination handling facility and automatically steering this passenger's aircraft to the destination handling facility. This can be achieved via a single flight route, provided the departure and destination handling facilities are directly connected by a flight route, or via several consecutive flight routes. In the latter case, it is advantageous for an optimized cascading of flight routes to be determined automatically, preferably by means of the control system of the transport system for passenger transport. In this case, the total distances as well as any existing local disruptions on flight routes that lead to a temporary suspension of flight operations are preferably taken into account.

[0051] Advantageously, the passenger can also reach their destination via multiple flight routes without transferring, as the passenger's aircraft makes a stopover at the check-in facilities along the entire flight route but then continues on the entire flight route—possibly after automatic maintenance as described below. It is also within the scope of the invention for such a passenger to transfer to another aircraft at a check-in station.

[0052] In the method according to the invention, an aircraft is located at least briefly in a handling facility between two flight routes. Advantageously, maintenance and / or power supply to the aircraft, in particular charging or replacing a battery of the aircraft, takes place during the aircraft's stay in a handling facility. This ensures the aircraft's continuous availability for the transport system.

[0053] Without limitation, in a further development of this idea, it can be provided that the at least one has one of the following stations: removal station for removing at least one energy supply unit of the aircraft, in particular an accumulator battery; insertion station for inserting at least one energy supply unit of the aircraft, in particular an accumulator battery; charging station for charging or filling at least one energy supply unit of the aircraft, in particular an accumulator battery ora fuel cell or an internal combustion engine; boarding station for passengers boarding the aircraft; disembarkation station for passengers disembarking from the aircraft; loading station for loading cargo into the aircraft; unloading station for unloading cargo from the aircraft; maintenance station for technical maintenance of the aircraft; one or more conveyor devices for conveying the aircraft to a take-off and / or landing site; discharge station for discharging the aircraft from the conveyor device; infeed station for inducting an aircraft into the conveyor device.

[0054] Passenger transport systems typically have a spatially inhomogeneous demand for transport capacity, which also varies over time: For example, due to rush hour traffic, a higher transport capacity is usually required in the morning from the periphery of a transport system to its center than in the reverse direction. In the evening, the opposite requirement arises: Here, a higher transport capacity is required from the center to the periphery than in the reverse direction.

[0055] In an advantageous further development, such an asymmetrical demand for transport capacity is taken into account by providing increased transport in the desired direction for specified time windows, in particular by increasing the takeoff frequency and / or reducing the distance to the aircraft immediately ahead in the desired direction of flight, in order to achieve increased transport capacity for passengers. For this purpose, an asymmetrical takeoff frequency and / or an asymmetrical minimum distance to the aircraft immediately ahead is advantageously specified on bidirectional flight routes, so that a higher transport capacity is achieved in the desired direction on this bidirectional flight direction than in the opposite direction.

[0056] This advantageous design does indeed have the advantage of saving energy by adjusting the transport capacity as needed. At the same time, however, such a design results in an accumulation of aircraft in the area for which increased transport capacity is provided. In the example of rush hour traffic, the average number of aircraft shifts from the periphery of the transport system to the center of the transport system in the morning. The handling facilities in the center of the transport system must therefore have increased parking capacity, since, on average, more aircraft arrive at the handling facilities located in the center than depart from them.Accordingly, increased parking capacity must be provided in the evenings at the terminal facilities on the periphery of the transport system, since, on average, more aircraft land than take off at these terminal facilities on the periphery during the evening rush hour reversal.

[0057] In an advantageous further development of the method, a minimum number of free parking spaces for fleet relocations is therefore kept available for a majority of the handling facilities, preferably for all handling facilities.

[0058] As previously described, in cases of known increased transport demand, it is advantageous to initially allocate additional aircraft at the handling facilities in the starting area of ​​the increased transport demand, and to provide additional free parking spaces for fleet relocation at the handling facilities in the destination area of ​​the increased transport demand. This enables temporary asymmetric transport capacity.

[0059] In an advantageous development of the method, at least a subset of the handling facilities is connected to several neighboring handling facilities, preferably to all neighboring handling facilities, each via a flight route. This advantageous, dense network of handling facilities allows any route within the system to be served using the shortest possible connection paths.

[0060] In order to ensure a connection between any pair of handling facilities of the transport system, each pair of handling facilities is advantageously connected to each other at least indirectly via flight routes.

[0061] Advantageously, in normal mode, at least for a subset of the handling facilities, preferably for all handling facilities, a take-off frequency and / or a landing frequency in the range of one second to 30 minutes, preferably in the range of one second to five minutes, in particular in the range of one second to 60 seconds, most preferably of approximately 30 seconds, is specified. This ensures efficient utilization, particularly with the aircraft already available. Additionally or alternatively, it is advantageous that in normal mode, at least for a subset of the handling facilities, preferably for all handling facilities, a distance of an aircraft from the aircraft flying ahead in the range of 10 m to 2 km, preferably 50 m to 1 km, in particular 100 m to 800 m, preferably approximately 550 m, is specified for the flight routes.

[0062] Preferably, the flight routes are less than 100 km long, preferably less than 50 km long, and especially less than 25 km long. This reduces the technical requirements for the energy capacity of the aircraft.

[0063] Since take-off and landing operations require a comparatively high amount of time and energy compared to a continuous flight on a flight route, it is advantageous for an efficient design of the transport system that the handling facilities are at least 500 m, preferably at least 1 km, in particular at least 5 km apart from each other.

[0064] In particular, it is advantageous that the average distance between the handling facilities of the transport system is in the range of 2 km to 20 km, in particular 5 km to 15 km, preferably about 10 km.

[0065] In an advantageous embodiment of the transport system, at least a subset of the handling facilities, preferably all handling facilities, have waiting facilities for maintenance, repair, and / or power supply of the aircraft. In particular, it is advantageous for the handling facilities to have a conveyor system for each waiting facility for the automated transport of the aircraft between the waiting facility and the takeoff and / or landing site.

[0066] The handling facilities can have an area that serves both the takeoff and landing of aircraft. In an advantageous development, the takeoff and landing frequency of the handling facilities is increased by providing a takeoff area and a separate landing area. A further increase in the takeoff and landing capacity of a handling area is advantageously made possible by additional takeoff and landing areas.

[0067] In the transport system according to the invention, a plurality of handling facilities are connected by flight paths for aircraft. In an advantageous embodiment of the transport system, this circumstance is used to detect environmental conditions: It is within the scope of the invention for the control system to be connected to external sensors and / or information sources for environmental conditions, in particular to databases of weather services.

[0068] In this advantageous embodiment, the spatial coverage of the area of ​​the transport system by the aircraft flying along the flight routes is thus used to obtain information about the environmental conditions. The sensors are advantageously connected to the control system of the transport system, and the control system is preferably designed to automatically derive environmental conditions from the sensor data of the aircraft and to automatically detect those environmental conditions that require an interruption of flight operations and thus the triggering of the previously described emergency mode. In particular, the control system preferably comprises the aforementioned flight monitoring system for this purpose.

[0069] Furthermore, it is advantageous that the control system is further configured to detect the spatial extent of environmental conditions that necessitate a temporary suspension of flight operations. In this advantageous embodiment, the control system thus determines individually for each flight route whether a suspension of flight operations is necessary due to the adverse environmental conditions, thus enabling the emergency mode to be set up in a manner that is adapted to the environmental conditions while still minimizing the spatial footprint.

[0070] Advantageously, the sensor data of the aircraft are forwarded to the aforementioned flight monitoring system of the control system of the transport system.

[0071] In principle, the passenger transport system according to the invention is arbitrarily scalable by providing a corresponding number of handling facilities and aircraft. Typical sizes are given below, based on the provision of a passenger transport system according to the invention for a densely populated area, in particular a large city, and based on the technical data that can be achieved by existing aircraft, in particular multicopters, or can be achieved in the foreseeable future: Size Typical value range Example value Area coverage 200 km 2< to 2,000 km 2< 100 km 2< to 10,000 km 2< 30 km x 20 km (600 km 2< ) Average distance between handling facilities 5 km to 25 km 10 km Average flight speed of the aircraft 50 km / h to 200 km / h 75 km / h Average number of aircraft in the air simultaneously in normal mode 100 to 3000 750 Battery capacity of the aircraft 0.5 h to 4 h flight time including 5 to 40 takeoffs / landings 1 hour flight time including 10 takeoffs / landings Number of removable batteries kept in each handling device 200 to 2000 600

[0072] The handling facilities are preferably designed as described in PCT / EP2017 / 068602. Additionally or alternatively, it is advantageous to design the handling facilities as takeoff / landing facilities in accordance with PCT / EP2017 / 068628.

[0073] The aircraft of the method according to the invention and the transport system according to the invention are suitable for transporting passengers and thus preferably have at least one, particularly preferably at least two, seats for passengers. Furthermore, the aircraft of the method according to the invention and the transport system according to the invention are designed for vertical takeoff and landing. This property is also referred to as VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing).

[0074] The aircraft are preferably electric, meaning the thrust required for flight is preferably generated by one or more electric motors. This enables environmentally friendly operation.

[0075] The electrical energy is preferably provided by an accumulator. This allows for rapid energy supply by charging and / or replacing the accumulator. Other energy sources such as fuel cells, electric generators based on combustion engines, or a combination thereof are also within the scope of the invention.

[0076] Other drive options, in particular combustion engines, are also within the scope of the invention.

[0077] The aircraft are preferably designed as multicopters, in particular the applicant's Volocopter® (IR 1251865), helicopters, tilt-wing aircraft, or tilt-rotor aircraft. It is also within the scope of the invention to use different types of aircraft for the method and / or the transport system.

[0078] The aircraft are preferably designed as multicopters, especially electric multicopters. Multicopters offer particular advantages in terms of maneuverability and the possibility of external control via an automated control system.

[0079] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of an embodiment with reference to the drawing.

[0080] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a transport system according to the invention for passenger transport.

[0081] The transport system 1 comprises a plurality – in this case, over 1,000 – of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, in this case electric multicopters for passengers. These multicopters are designed as Volocopter®< from e-volo GmbH. Two multicopters 2a, 2b of the transport system are shown as examples. The aircraft can also be designed as helicopters or as aircraft with tilt-wings or tilt-rotors, or a combination thereof in further embodiments.

[0082] The transport system 1 further comprises a plurality of handling facilities 3a, 3b, which are designed for the takeoff and landing of the multicopters 2a, 2b. Each handling facility has parking spaces for a plurality of multicopters.

[0083] Furthermore, the transport system 1 has a control system (not shown) with a computer unit and data storage. This control system is connected to the handling facilities 3a, 3b and wirelessly to the multicopters 2a, 2b. The control system is designed for the automated takeoff and landing of the multicopters 2a, 2b at the handling facilities 3a, 3b and for the automated control of the multicopters along predetermined flight routes between the handling facilities. The multicopters each have GPS receivers, the data from which is forwarded to the control system. This enables automated flight along flight routes predetermined by the control system. The multicopters can also have additional or different sensors / detectors for determining attitude and position.

[0084] In the present embodiment, each handling facility 3a, 3b is connected to each neighboring handling facility 3a, 3b via a flight path. The flight paths are shown as dashed lines. One flight path is designated by reference numeral 4 as an example.

[0085] The control system is designed for continuous flight traffic of the multicopters 2a, 2b on the flight routes 4. At each of the handling facilities 3a, 3b, a multicopter takes off and / or lands in a continuous sequence.

[0086] The transport system thus enables passenger transport within the area covered by the transport system, whereby no infrastructure in the form of roads or rails is necessary between the handling facilities.

[0087] For reasons of simplicity of presentation, the handling facilities 3a, 3b are in Figure 1Each is arranged at an intersection point of a rectangular grid, meaning the flight paths run perpendicular or parallel to each other. Typically, when implementing such a transport system, additional conditions must be taken into account, such as points with increased passenger volume (e.g., handling facilities at or near train stations) or natural features or no-fly zones (e.g., near hospitals), so that a non-rectangular network will typically be developed.

[0088] The handling facilities 3b are each designed as a handling facility according to PCT / EP2017 / 068602. They can preferably comprise a building, as shown in Figures 6 and 7 of the aforementioned reference and explained in the associated figure description. Likewise, the handling facilities can be arranged on their own support structures, which may span existing infrastructure, such as existing buildings, in particular train stations or parking garages.

[0089] The handling facilities 3a and 3b provide takeoff and landing facilities for the multicopters at an altitude of between 90 and 110 meters above ground. The average flight altitude on the flight routes is approximately 130 meters above ground. Therefore, for all flight routes, the altitude difference between the highest and lowest points of the flight route is less than 50 meters (maximum 40 meters), thus achieving energy-efficient operation.

[0090] All handling facilities 3a, 3b have waiting facilities for the automated replacement of multicopter batteries. Furthermore, all handling facilities 3a, 3b have automated conveyor belts, by means of which a landed multicopter can be transported from the landing site of the handling facility to the waiting facility and from the waiting facility to a takeoff site or to a free parking space of the handling facility. In the waiting facility, the multicopter's battery is automatically replaced with a fully charged one. The removed battery is automatically fed to a charging station for the battery.

[0091] The handling facilities 3a and 3b also provide boarding and disembarkation points for passengers to and from the multicopters. In particular, access points as described in PCT / EP2017 / 068602 may be provided.

[0092] All multicopters 2a, 2b of the transport system are equipped with sensors for detecting environmental conditions. In this case, each multicopter is equipped with a fire detector, a smoke detector, a wind detector, and a precipitation detector. The measurement data from these sensors is forwarded to a flight monitoring system of the transport system's control system.

[0093] The flight monitoring system automatically evaluates the measurement data. If a hazardous situation arises, particularly if predefined threshold parameters, such as wind speed or precipitation levels, are exceeded, the flight monitoring system automatically identifies those flight routes that should be temporarily suspended due to the critical environmental conditions. Likewise, the flight monitoring system releases the affected flight routes back to normal mode once the hazardous situation is no longer detected.

[0094] During normal operation, the transport system is in a normal mode, in which the control system continuously controls the multicopters' flight operations along the flight routes. If a dangerous situation occurs as described above, the normal mode is terminated for the relevant flight routes 4, and the multicopters are automatically landed. For this purpose, each handling facility in normal mode constantly has an emergency parking capacity of free parking spaces: In the present exemplary embodiment, the emergency parking capacity of a handling facility is determined by the number of all multicopters simultaneously approaching this handling facility on a flight route of this handling facility.

[0095] As in Figure 1As can be seen, the handling facilities 3a are each connected to two flight routes, the outer handling facilities 3b are each connected to three flight routes, and the two inner handling facilities 3b are each connected to four flight routes. All flight routes in this exemplary embodiment are configured as bidirectional, symmetrical flight routes in normal mode. For flight route 4, it is shown by way of example that the multicopter 2a moves from the right to the left handling facility of this flight route 4, and the multicopter 2b moves in the opposite direction. This is intended to indicate that on such a bidirectional flight route, multicopters constantly travel in both directions between the handling facilities connected to this flight route.

[0096] The aforementioned condition for emergency parking capacity now means, for example, for one of the two inner handling facilities 3b, that at any given time in emergency mode, there are multicopters "in the air" on a total of four flight routes, flying toward this handling facility. The total number of these multicopters flying toward this handling facility on the four flight routes determines the emergency parking capacity for this handling facility. The same applies to handling facilities connected to three or two flight routes, respectively.

[0097] In a hazardous situation, the control system for the relevant flight route terminates normal mode as described above. This means that no more multicopters will take off from the two handling facilities connected to this flight route. For example, if a hazardous situation has been detected for flight route 4, no further multicopters will take off from the handling facilities 3b connected to flight route 4 on flight route 4. If other flight routes connected to these handling facilities 3b are not affected by the hazardous situation, multicopters can take off from the handling facilities for these flight routes in normal mode.

[0098] The previously described dangerous situation in the area of ​​flight route 4 thus results in no further takeoffs for flight route 4. However, there are typically still multicopters in flight on flight route 4. In the present exemplary embodiment, all of these multicopters 2a, 2b end their flight along flight route 4 and in the original flight direction. The provision of emergency parking capacities in accordance with the aforementioned condition ensures that parking spaces are available at the respective destination handling facilities 3b for all multicopters on flight route 4. After a multicopter lands, the multicopter is automatically transported to a free parking space via a conveyor belt.

[0099] The Figure 1The illustrated transport system of the exemplary embodiment further comprises an on-demand handling facility 5. This facility is connected to one of the transport system's flight routes via an on-demand flight route 5a. However, the on-demand flight route 5a does not have continuous air traffic. Such air traffic only occurs upon request by a user. The on-demand handling facility 5 could, for example, be located on or at a private residence, so that air traffic is only desired for the purpose of transporting people to the private residence.

[0100] A user can now enter the on-demand handling facility 5 as a destination when using a multicopter in continuous flight operation. Since this is a private residence, such a destination entry is only possible with the additional entry of a password or similar identification, for example, using an RFID chip or other identification measures.

[0101] The control system now automatically directs the respective multicopter to the on-demand flight route 5a and lands it at the on-demand handling facility 5. This creates a gap on the regular flight route, which can be maintained or automatically filled by the control system at the next handling facility with a parked multicopter. The multicopter parked at the on-demand handling facility 5 can now return to the regular flight route with or without a passenger. Upon request or approval by the user, the control system prevents the corresponding regular flight route from taking off, creating a gap on this flight route, which is then filled by the aforementioned multicopter via the on-demand flight route 5a, thus returning the multicopter to the regular flight route.

[0102] In Figure 1An external multicopter 6 is also shown. This is not inherently part of the transport system. For example, the external multicopter 6 is a private multicopter that is flown manually. Likewise, the external multicopter 6 can be an automatically controlled multicopter of an adjacent transport system and thus be located on a flight route of the adjacent transport system. To integrate the external multicopter 6, a request is first sent to the control system, similar to that previously described for the on-demand flight route 5a. This request is initiated by the user and / or another control system of the external transport system. Here, too, by omitting the launch of a multicopter, a gap is created on the relevant regular flight route of the transport system, into which the external multicopter 6 is integrated. After integration, the control system of the transport system takes over control of the external multicopter 6.From this point on, the external multicopter 6 behaves identically to the regular multicopters 2a, 2b and is also controlled exclusively via the control system of the transport system.

[0103] In reverse order, the external multicopter 6 can leave the transport system, whereby here too, analogous to the on-demand flight route 5a described above, the resulting gap can be filled by a parked multicopter.

[0104] In the present embodiment, the handling facilities each have a takeoff and a landing site for each flight route connected to the handling facility. The control system presets a takeoff frequency of 30 seconds in normal mode, meaning that a multicopter takes off every 30 seconds on each flight route and in each flight direction in normal mode.

[0105] The handling facilities 3a, 3b sometimes have free parking spaces for fleet relocations in addition to the previously described free parking spaces, depending on the emergency parking capacity. In a typical takeoff area, there is an increased need for passenger transport from the periphery to the center in the morning, for example, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. In the present exemplary embodiment, an increased need for passenger transport is assumed between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., starting from the corner points of the transport system (handling facilities 3a) to the two inner handling facilities 3b, which are each connected to four flight routes. Accordingly, an increased need for passenger transport from the two aforementioned inner handling facilities 3b to the handling facilities 3a is assumed in the evening between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.This is due, as is well known, to the fact that housing is increasingly located in the periphery and jobs are increasingly located in the center.

[0106] Each of the handling facilities 3a therefore has a fleet shifting capacity of 40 parking spaces. Accordingly, each of the two inner handling facilities 3b has a fleet shifting capacity of 80 parking spaces. At the beginning of a day at 7:00 a.m., the parking spaces designated for fleet shifting at handling facilities 3a are filled with multicopters, i.e., at this time, each of the handling facilities 3a has 40 multicopters available in the fleet shifting parking spaces. The fleet shifting parking spaces of the two inner handling facilities 3b, however, are free at this time, so that a total of 160 free fleet shifting parking spaces are available at the inner handling facilities 3b.

[0107] Between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the control system operates in a modified normal mode. In this modified normal mode, the flight connections departing from the handling facilities 3a have an asymmetric takeoff frequency, which also continues across the other flight connections to the nearest inner handling facility 3b. In this modified normal mode, the flight routes toward one of the inner handling facilities 3b have a higher takeoff frequency (e.g., every 20 seconds) than in the opposite direction (e.g., every 30 seconds). As a result, on average, more multicopters land at the inner handling facilities 3b than take off from these facilities. The surplus multicopters are parked in the free fleet relocation parking spaces.Accordingly, the fleet relocation parking spaces at handling facilities 3a are becoming empty, as, on average, more multicopters take off than land at these handling facilities. With the asymmetric takeoff frequency mentioned above, a fleet contingent of 40 multicopters would be relocated in approximately 40 minutes, meaning that the modified normal mode only lasts 40 minutes in this example.

[0108] After the modified normal mode has ended, the control system introduces the symmetrical control described above, so that an identical take-off frequency exists in both directions on each flight direction.

[0109] In the evening, between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, the control system again operates in a modified normal mode. This corresponds to the previously described modified normal mode, but the direction of the asymmetric control is reversed, resulting in increased transport capacity from the inner handling facilities 3b to the handling facilities 3a. As a result, the fleet transfer parking spaces of the inner handling facilities 3b empty, while the fleet transfer parking spaces of the handling facilities 3a fill up. This sequence can thus be repeated daily or, preferably, every working day.

Claims

1. Method for operating a transport system (1) for passenger transport, comprising: - providing a plurality of vertical take-off and vertical landing aircraft (2a, 2b) for passengers; - providing a plurality of handling facilities (3a, 3b) for the take-off and landing of aircraft (2a, 2b), wherein each of said handling facility comprises parking locations for a plurality of aircraft (2a, 2b), - configuring flight routes (4) between the handling facilities (3a, 3b) so that each handling facility is connected to at least one further handling facility via a flight route (4), by which continuous air traffic of aircraft (2a, 2b) occurs on the flight routes (4) at least in one flight direction, with automated take-off, automated flight along the flight route (4) and automated landing, characterised in that that environmental conditions are detected by sensors, at least by a fire detector, smoke detector, wind detector and / or precipitation detector, in at least a subset of the aircraft (2a, 2b), preferably in all aircraft (2a, 2b), that in a normal mode at least a subset of the handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably all handling facilities (3a, 3b), each and permanently comprises at least one emergency parking capacity at free parking locations which corresponds to at least one of the following conditions: a) two handling facilities (3a, 3b) which are connected to a flight route (4), comprise a common emergency capacity on free parking locations, which corresponds at least to the number of aircraft (2a, 2b) flying on the flight route (4) between the two handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably the aforementioned condition is fulfilled for each pair of handling facilities (3a, 3b) connected by a flight route (4); b) the emergency parking capacity of a handling facility corresponds to the number of all aircraft (2a, 2b) simultaneously approaching this handling facility on a flight route (4) of this handling facility; c) the emergency parking capacity corresponds to the sum of half of the number of all aircraft (2a, 2b) which are flying simultaneously to said handling facility on a flight route (4) of this handling facility and half the number of all aircraft (2a, 2b) simultaneously departing from this handling facility on a flight route (4) of this handling facility; that environmental conditions, which make an interruption of flight operations and the triggering of an emergency mode necessary, are automatically derived and recognised from the sensor data of the aircraft by a control system of the transport system, and that in the emergency mode for at least a subset of the flight routes (4), preferably for all flight routes (4), take-off procedures of aircraft (2a, 2b) at the handling facilities (3a, 3b) connected to these flight routes (4) are stopped and the aircraft (2a, 2b) flying on these flight routes (4) land on one of the handling facilities connected to this flight route (4) and are preferably automatically conveyed to a free parking location of this handling facility, wherein the aircraft (2a, 2b) flying on flight routes (4) affected by the emergency mode either land at the intended handling facility in flight direction, in particular, if an emergency parking capacity is provided in accordance with condition b), or land at the nearest handling facility of this flight route (4), in particular, if an emergency parking capacity is provided in accordance with condition c).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that for each handling facility (3a, 3b) a standard take-off frequency is predefined, with which aircraft (2a, 2b) take off in a normal mode and / or that for each flight route (4) a respective standard distance is specified, which represents the distance of an aircraft (2a, 2b) to a directly preceding aircraft (2a, 2b) on the respective flight route (4) in a normal mode and / or that at least a subset of the flight routes (4), preferably all flight routes (4), are bidirectional.

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least a subset of the flight routes (4), preferably all flight routes (4), comprise a height difference between the highest and lowest point of the flight route (4) of less than 100 m, preferably less than 50 m, in particular less than 30 m.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one on-demand handling facility (5) is provided, which is connected to at least one on-demand flight route (5a) with a handling facility, wherein an aircraft (2a, 2b) flies to the on-demand handling facility (5) on the on-demand flight route (5a) only when required, manually requested by a passenger.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that an admission procedure is provided for an external aircraft (6), wherein the external aircraft (6) being integrated into the automated flight on a flight route (4), preferably the flight route (4) closest to the external aircraft (6), in particular that a take-off of an aircraft (2a, 2b) at a handling facility of this flight route (4) is prevented or delayed and that the external aircraft (6) is instead integrated into the flight route (4), and / or that a destination handling facility of a passenger is gathered and the aircraft (2a, 2b) of this passenger is automatically routed to the destination handling facility, where appropriate, via several flight routes (4) connected in series.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that during the stay of an aircraft (2a, 2b) at a handling facility, maintenance and / or a power supply of the aircraft (2a, 2b), in particular, charging or replacement of an accumulator battery of the aircraft (2a, 2b), takes place and / or that a minimum amount of free parking locations for fleet transfers is provided at a plurality of the handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably at all handling facilities (3a, 3b).

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least a subset of the flight routes (4), preferably all flight routes (4), connect a handling facility with a neighbouring handling facility, preferably that only neighbouring handling facilities (3a, 3b) are connected via flight routes (4) and / or that at least a subset of the handling facilities (3a, 3b) is connected to several neighbouring handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably to all neighbouring handling facilities (3a, 3b), via one respective flight route (4), and / or that each pair of handling facilities (3a, 3b) is connected to each other at least indirectly via flight routes (4).

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in normal mode a start frequency in the range from 1s to 30min, preferably in the range from 1s to 5min, in particular, in the range from 1s to 60s, most preferably of about 30s, is predefined at least for a subset of the handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably for all handling facilities (3a, 3b), and / or in normal mode, at least for a subset of the handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably for all handling facilities (3a, 3b), a distance of an aircraft (2a, 2b) to the preceding aircraft (2a, 2b) in the range of 10m to 2km, preferably 50m to 1km, in particular 100m to 800m, is predefined for the respective flight routes (4).

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flight routes (4) comprise a length of less than 100km, preferably less than 50km, in particular less than 25km.

10. Transport system (1) for passenger transport, preferably for operation according to one of the preceding claims: - a plurality of vertical take-off and vertical landing aircraft (2a, 2b) for passengers; - a plurality of handling facilities (3a, 3b) for the take-off and landing of aircraft (2a, 2b), each handling facility having parking locations for a plurality of aircraft (2a, 2b), - a control system for the automated take-off and landing of the aircraft (2a, 2b) at the handling facilities (3a, 3b) and for the automated control of the aircraft (2a, 2b) along predetermined flight routes (4) between the handling facilities (3a, 3b), which control system is configured for a continuous air traffic of the aircraft (2a, 2b) on the flight routes (4), characterised in that at least a subset of the aircraft (2a, 2b), preferably all aircraft (2a, 2b), comprise sensors for detecting ambient conditions, at least one or more of the sensors: - Fire and / or smoke detector; - Wind detector; - Precipitation detector; that the sensor data of the aircraft (2a, 2b) are forwarded to a flight monitoring system of the transport system (1), wherein the flight monitoring system is configured to automatically perform an assessment of the sensor data with regard to the presence of a hazardous situation and, in the event of a hazardous situation, to terminate flight operation in normal mode, trigger an emergency mode and automatically land the flying aircraft (2a, 2b), that in a normal mode at least a subset of the handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably all handling facilities (3a, 3b), each and permanently comprises at least one emergency parking capacity at free parking locations which corresponds to at least one of the following conditions: a) two handling facilities (3a, 3b) which are connected to one flight route (4) comprise a common emergency capacity of free parking locations, which corresponds at least to the number of aircraft (2a, 2b) flying on the flight route (4) between the two handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably the aforementioned condition is fulfilled for each pair of handling facilities (3a, 3b) connected by a flight route (4); b) the emergency parking capacity of a handling facility corresponds to the number of all aircraft (2a, 2b) simultaneously approaching this handling facility on a flight route (4) of this handling facility; c) the emergency parking capacity corresponds to the sum of half of the number of all aircraft (2a, 2b) which are flying simultaneously to said handling facility on a flight route (4) of this handling facility and half the number of all aircraft (2a, 2b) simultaneously departing from this handling facility on a flight route (4) of this handling facility; and that in the emergency mode for at least a subset of the flight routes (4), preferably for all flight routes (4), the transport system (1) is configured to stop take-off operations of aircraft (2a, 2b) at the handling facilities (3a, 3b) connected to these flight routes (4) and to land the aircraft (2a, 2b) flying on these flight routes (4) on one of the handling facilities connected to this flight route (4) and preferably to convey them automatically to a free parking location of this handling facility, wherein the transport system (1) is further designed to land the aircraft (2a, 2b) flying on flight routes (4) affected by the emergency mode either at the intended handling facility in flight direction, in particular, if an emergency parking capacity is provided in accordance with condition b), or to land at the nearer handling facility of this flight route (4), in particular if an emergency parking capacity is provided in accordance with condition c).

11. Transport system (1) according to claim 10, characterised in that at least a subset of the handling facilities (3a, 3b), preferably all handling facilities (3a, 3b), comprise take-off and landing sites for the aircraft (2a, 2b) at a height greater than 50m, preferably greater than 75m, in particular, greater than 100m, above the ground, preferably that the handling facilities (3a, 3b) are arranged in or preferably on high-rise buildings, wherein in particular a height difference between the take-off and landing sites of the handling facilities (3a, 3b) is less than 50m, preferably less than 25m, in particular, less than 10m.

12. Transport system (1) according to one of claims 10 to 11, characterised in that at least a subset of the handling facilities, preferably all handling facilities (3a, 3b), comprises maintenance facilities for maintenance, repair and / or energy supply for the aircraft (2a, 2b), in particular, that the handling facilities for each maintenance facility comprise a conveying device for automated conveying of the aircraft (2a, 2b) between the maintenance facility and the take-off and / or landing site.