Dubai has completed a landmark crewed electric air taxi flight in what is being hailed as a significant step in the emirate's cutting-edge vision for the future of transport.
The journey – which authorities said was the first of its kind – took place between Al Maktoum International Airport and a landing pad near the desert conservation reserve in Margham.
A successful vertical take off and landing was completed by the piloted aircraft, operated in partnership with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and California-based Joby Aviation.
The test flight was conducted ahead of the Dubai Airshow, which gets under way on Monday and comes as the UAE steps up efforts to launch flying taxi passenger services as early as next year.
Meanwhile, the RTA announced Dubai’s first aerial taxi vertiport is 60 per cent complete, and will transport passengers from a hub near to Dubai International Airport, and three other vertiports in partnership with Emaar, Atlantis The Royal, and Wasl.
The new vertiports under development will be placed at the Zabeel Dubai Mall parking area, the five-star Atlantis The Royal Hotel in Palm Jumeirah and at the American University in Dubai.
Dubai Media Office said flying taxis would cut travel times between Dubai International Airport to Palm Jumeirah from 45 minutes by road to only 10 minutes in the air.
"The execution of the first crewed flight of the electric air taxi marks a new milestone added to Dubai's record of leadership and innovation," said Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the RTA.
UAE ambitions take flight
The expanding national infrastructure for new electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft services – or eVTOLs – include 10 ports in Abu Dhabi.
Key locations include Zayed International Airport and Al Bateen Executive Airport, and signal the UAE’s push towards smart, sustainable air mobility, to connect business hubs around the country.
US firm Joby Aviation is hoping to make a wider impact across the GCC for commercial passenger services.
In November, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced plans for the rapid deployment of Joby’s electric air taxi in the country.
The company has already earmarked the US, UK and Japan as key markets for air taxi services, that have been mooted for years as a potential solution to UAE traffic congestion in the UAE.
“We’ve been collaborating with the FAA since 2016 on the certification and the commercial operations of our aircraft, and we’re now putting those standards to work on a global scale,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby.
Joby aims to launch 200 aircraft in Saudi Arabia, valued at around $1 billion to begin commercial operations.
The company has entered the final phase of FAA Type Certification for the aircraft in the US.
The regulatory process involves FAA test pilots assessing aerial performance and safety, which aims to create global certification standards for advanced air mobility.
Archer Aviation – another developer of eVTOL aircraft – has also completed a test campaign ahead of its UAE launch.
Testing of the firm’s Midnight vehicle included vertical take-off, transition, and wingborne flight – in the UAE’s local operating environment and over desert areas.
The tests were conducted in close co-ordination with the UAE’s regulator, the General Civil Aviation Authority, Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre and Archer’s operations partner, Abu Dhabi Aviation.
