HH Sheikh Hamdan was there to witness the successful launch…

It’s finally happening. Dubai’s much-hyped Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) took to the skies yesterday in its first test flight.

The ceremony held to mark this special occasion was attended by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, who took to his Instagram to post this awesome shot:

A post shared by Fazza (@faz3) on

In an official statement from state news agency WAM, Sheikh Hamdan remarked on what an achievement the successful launch was, adding that “After the remarkable success of the first driverless metro in the region, we are glad to witness today the test flight of the Autonomous Air Taxi,”

A video was also posted to Twitter showing the autonomous two-seater craft taking off and steadily hovering high above the ground before safely landing back to base. The whole thing is pretty impressive.

The AAT is an enivronmentally-friendly vehicle powered by clean electricity and can reach top speeds of around 100km per hour.

No firm date has been given on when the public can expect to start hailing these futuristic flying cabs, but judging by yesterdays’ events it might be sooner than we think.

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Image: WAM