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Air-Taxis Seen Zooming Through US Skies by 2028 in FAA Proposal
- Agency publishes broad outlines of new electric-aircraft use
- FAA envisions travel plucked from “movies or science fiction”
Joby Aviation's electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft in Marina, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Urban air-taxis can begin service over US cities as soon as 2028 by largely adhering to existing flight rules for helicopters and other low-altitude aircraft, according to federal regulators.
The Federal Aviation Administration timeline published Tuesday is three years beyond the agency’s initial goal of certifying the first of such aircraft by 2025. During initial phases, the taxis will have human pilots, rather than the robotic controllers the industry is eventually seeking, the FAA said.