Joby Aviation has laid out its road map to achieve type certification of its electric air taxi and obtain its air operator certificate in order to begin commercial aerial ridesharing services in U.S. cities in 2024.
Europe’s aviation regulator believes commercial use of electric air taxis could begin by 2024-25, but that it will take at least five more years to enable autonomous passenger transport, the holy grail for ubiquitous and affordable urban air mobility.
Harmonization of the differing European and U.S. approaches to regulating electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft is advancing somewhat, but there are concerns over the lack of information on China’s approach to approving the new class of aircraft.
The FAA will establish an executive board to lead the agency’s oversight of the emerging Advanced Air Mobility sector, Administrator Steve Dickson announced on March 3.
The FAA expects to certify the first of a new generation of advanced or urban air mobility (AAM/UAM) aircraft later in 2021 and says regulations will be in place in time for initial piloted electric vertical-take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) operations to begin as early as 2023.
