What’s So Tough About Getting Air Taxis Certified for Flight?

The emerging cast of air taxi companies promising to revolutionize urban transportation has raised billions of dollars and enticed investors.

Now comes the hard part: winning airworthiness certification from regulators such as the Federal Aviation Administration. And that’s merely the first in a series of exacting technical approvals that air taxi makers must secure before entering the highly regulated world of commercial air transport. “You’ve got a whole different set of requirements for an eVTOL vs. a traditional airplane,” says Michael Rioux, chief operating officer of consultant JDA Aviation Technology Solutions. “It’s not like the FAA’s going to say, ‘We’ve done this 20 times before.’ They’re going to be very cautious.”