Flying Taxi Vertiport Design Approved for DubaiFlying Taxi Vertiport Design Approved for Dubai

Skyports Infrastructure has received technical design approval for a vertiport in Dubai, the first commercial vertiport in the United Arab Emirates.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) approved the facility being built at Dubai International Vertiport (DXV), adjacent to Dubai International Airport.

Skyports is continuing with the development of its facility, where commercial air taxi operations are scheduled to begin.

The vertiport is the first to be approved under the newly established UAE Vertiport Regulations and the first of four being developed with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Joby Aviation.

“What we’re undertaking in Dubai – and driving in other regions – completely reimagines the way people travel around cities and between regions,” said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports. “This is all made possible through the development of new regulatory frameworks and guidelines, which ensure a compliant, safe and scalable approach to aviation infrastructure. Today, with the GCAA, we’ve reached a key milestone for our flagship DXV facility, bringing us ever closer to launching commercial air taxi operations.”

Design approval involved an assessment of physical dimensions, layout, airspace considerations, obstacle environment and rescue and firefighting services, with Skyports demonstrating a firefighting strategy for battery and traditional fuel fires.

Related:Flying Taxi Vertiport Construction Starts in Dubai

Construction started on the vertiport late last year.

The vertiport is for takeoff and landing for the Joby eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicles.

Joby planned for the four initial locations to form its vertiport network for the air taxi service in the UAE.

For more flying vehicle and other emerging tech news subscribe to our free newsletter!

In addition to DBX, Joby vertiports would be developed at Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and the Dubai Marina. 

Travel in the Joby flying taxi from DXB to Palm Jumeirah would take 12 minutes, compared to a 45-minute drive.

Joby, the RTA and Skyports signed a deal last year providing Joby with exclusive access to the Dubai air taxi market for six years.

The Joby electric flying taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers and travel up to 200 mph. The company also plans to operate its EAVs in New York City and Los Angeles along with its partner Delta Air Lines.

The electric aerial vehicle (EAV) maker recently conducted exhibition flights with Toyota in Japan, in the eVTOL company’s first flights outside the U.S.

The flights and showcasing of the Joby EAV were at the Toyota Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka, Japan.

Related:Flying Taxi Deal Signed for Dubai as Mideast Takes the Lead

Toyota has been investing in Joby since 2019, starting with Toyota Ventures, in addition to sharing knowledge of the Toyota systems for planning, manufacturing methods and tooling design. 

Joby last year announced a public offering of common stock to raise $202 million for the EAV maker.

Joby intends to use the financing to fund its “certification and manufacturing efforts, prepare for commercial operations and for general working capital and other general corporate purposes,” the company stated in a regulatory filing.

That funding followed a $500 million recent investment by Toyota, which brought its total investment in the EAV maker to $894 million.

That initial investment grew to $394 million and Toyota engineers now work side-by-side with Joby staff in California

Joby and Toyota signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for Joby’s EAVs. 

Joby has applied to become the first certified air taxi operator in the United Arab Emirates.

Joby already has partnership with the UAE through a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Municipalities and Transport Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the Department of Culture and Tourism, setting Joby up to establish and scale flying taxi services in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Joby has raised more than $2 billion from Toyota, Delta Air Lines, SK Telecom and Uber and has logged more than 33,00 miles of flight with a full-scale prototype, according to the company.

While Joby is partnered with Delta, Archer Aviation, the other major air taxi company, has a partnership with United Airlines.