FILE - An electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, flies above the Joby eVTOL aircraft, during a demonstration of eVTOLs Nov. 13, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
BMFederal regulators gave a strong push to electric-powered air taxis Tuesday by issuing a final rule for operating the aircraft and how pilots will be trained to fly them.
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, , said recognizes air taxis as an entirely new type of aircraft that will soon join airplanes and helicopters in the sky.
take off and land vertically, like helicopters, but fly like fixed-wing planes. are working to get them on the market, but they have been held back by the lack of clarity over regulations to govern their use.
Whitaker said is stressing safety as it works to fold the new aircraft into the nation's airspace. He said “powered-lift aircraft” are the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years, since the dawn of helicopters, and the rule will allow for their widespread operation.
Air taxi supporters call them a cleaner alternative to passenger planes that burn jet fuel. So far, however, current technology limits their size and likely means that they will be used most often in urban areas. Companies envision carrying people and cargo.
One of the companies in the new field, California-based Joby Aviation, praised the FAA regulation. said the rules “will ensure the U.S. continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight.”
Airlines see air taxis as a way to deliver passengers to airports. Delta Air Lines said in 2022 it would in Joby, and this month Toyota announced a . United Airlines is backing another California-based company, Archer Aviation, with an that Archer said could be worth $1 billion with an option for $500 million more.
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This story has been corrected to show the news was announced Tuesday, not Wednesday.
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