New York City’s airspace is seeing a major new innovation this week.
The city has launched its first-ever point-to-point test flights for electric air taxis that will soon shuttle travelers between Manhattan and the metro area’s airports.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has partnered with Joby Aviation, a company that builds electric take off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) to begin a week of air taxi test flights across the city’s existing network of heliports.
The test flights are in preparation for potential regular service by Joby, which has agreements to partner with airlines like Delta in order to ease commutes between New York airports and Manhattan.
The first successful flight took off from JFK International Airport on April 27 and made landings at three heliports in Manhattan, including the Downtown Skyport, the West 30th Street heliport, and East 34th Street heliport.
Those routes will be among Joby’s future flight network, which will enable passengers to transfer to JFK and the city’s other airports in as little as 10 minutes. The aircraft are quiet and produce zero emissions when operating.
“We operate some of the busiest airports in the world, and with that comes a responsibility to think seriously about what aviation looks like in the decades ahead for our passengers, for our communities, and for the environment,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.
The test flights are part of a larger pilot program funded by the White House to advance eVTOL technology across the country. The program, called the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), is being overseen by the FAA and will operate at least five pilot projects in different U.S. cities over the next three years.
“These demonstration flights are one data point in a larger body of work we’re building around next-generation electric aviation, and it reflects our conviction that responsible exploration of these technologies now is how we prepare this region for the future,” Garcia said.
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