Lilium: how the German eVTOL story ended

Founded in Munich in 2015, the company was building the six-seat Lilium Jet, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and planned to bring it to market by 2026.

In October 2024 the German entities filed for self-administered insolvency. Shortly before Christmas the Mobile Uplift Corporation investor consortium stepped in, temporarily preserving around 775 jobs, and in January 2025 the business passed to a successor named Lilium Aerospace.

The promised €200 million-plus never arrived, and on 21 February 2025 Lilium Aerospace filed for insolvency again, stating that the chances of restructuring were minimal. At its peak the company employed over a thousand people with more than 780 pre-orders on the books, and cumulative losses reached €1.36 billion by March 2024.

Not just one: another German developer, Volocopter, filed for insolvency in late 2024. Both cases showed how capital-intensive the road from prototype to certified aircraft is.

The question was never technical feasibility: Lilium secured certification bases with both the European and US regulators and design organisation approval. Regulatory progress did not substitute for funding — what mattered was the ability to pay for years of certification before the first revenue.

The standard path takes 6–10 weeks. Step 1: a letter of intent (LOI) with price and terms — 3–5 days. Step 2: a 5–10% deposit into escrow and signing of the purchase agreement. Step 3: a pre-purchase inspection — 1–3 weeks. Step 4: rectification of findings and price adjustment. Step 5: closing — simultaneous transfer of funds, title and risk, technical acceptance and ferry of the aircraft.

A pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is an independent check at a certified centre: airframe, engines, corrosion, records and compliance with airworthiness directives. It takes from 3 days on a turboprop to 2–3 weeks on a heavy jet and costs $15–100K — paid by the buyer. By market practice the seller pays to rectify airworthiness-affecting defects. A seller refusing a PPI is grounds to walk away.

The import budget depends on jurisdiction. In the EU the main items are any customs duty (most business-jet codes carry reduced or zero rates) and import VAT, which varies by country of entry (for example 19–22% in much of Europe). Registration in Aruba, San Marino or the Isle of Man under operation outside the EU allows a temporary-admission regime. We produce an exact calculation before the LOI is signed — an error here costs millions.

The standard is 24–48 hours before departure: that is enough to confirm the aircraft, crew and slots. For regular clients we arrange a domestic flight from 4–6 hours. International routes need 48–72 hours: overflight permits for some countries take 3–5 working days. On peak dates — Christmas, summer holidays, major forums — aircraft are booked out 2–3 weeks ahead, so plan early.

An empty leg is the ferry of an empty aircraft to its next job or home to base. Such segments sell at a 30–75% discount to the usual price: a flight that would cost $25K can come to $8–12K. The limits: the date and route are fixed to the aircraft's schedule, and if the main booking is cancelled the flight may shift. We publish current empty legs weekly — watch the listings.