Uber Denies Report It Will Test Unmanned Flying Taxis in Kenya

(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. denied a Kenyan newspaper report that it plans to introduce unmanned flying taxis in the East African nation.

Business Daily, a Nairobi-based publication, reported Wednesday that the taxi-hailing service had sought approval to test drones in Kenya that can ferry as many as four passengers and that the company planned to introduce the service by 2020. The paper cited Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Director-General Gilbert Kibe.

“We have no plans to introduce drones,” Samantha Allenberg, spokeswoman for Uber Africa, said by phone.

Kibe said the authority had in the past held informal talks with the company about the possibility of introducing the service.

“They have not made a formal request,” he said by phone from Nairobi. “They asked if it was something we would consider. It was not a formal conversation.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Samuel Gebre in Nairobi at sgebre@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, John Viljoen

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.