Rush-hour traffic may have finally met its match.
The first ever point-to-point electric vertical takeoff air taxi demonstration flight in New York City departed from JFK Airport on April 27 and landed across the city’s existing heliport network in Manhattan, according to a press release from Joby Aviation, a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service.
The flight connects Manhattan to JFK in under 10 minutes.
South Queens neighborhood activist PJ Marcel was at the scene and shared photos of the air taxi with the Chronicle.
While there were no passengers on board for the demonstration, the aircraft fits four passengers and one pilot.
The flight was part of a larger campaign to demonstrate how electric air taxis, which, according to Joby, are quiet and produce zero operating emissions, will be able to connect the region, linking vertiports, international airports and communities across the New York metropolitan area.
In a project led by the NYC Economic Development Corp; and in partnership with Skyports Infrastructure and Vertiports by Atlantic, the city’s heliport infrastructure will be electrified in anticipation of commercial air taxi service.
Joby is continuing to make progress in the final stages of Federal Aviation Administration certification, the company said, marked by the recent flight of its first conforming aircraft for type inspection authorization, which will pave the way for FAA pilots to carry out for-credit tests.
In New York, Joby’s vision is to turn one of the city’s most time-consuming trips into one of its fastest. Through partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Uber, the company aims to create an experience that connects ground transportation and air travel in a single journey.
“New York has always been a city that defines the future by demanding better,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, in a statement. “We first flew here in 2023, and now we’re showing what the next chapter looks like: a quiet, zero operating emissions air taxi service designed to better serve New Yorkers. This week, flying between JFK and Manhattan, we showed what the White House-backed [eVTOL Integration Pilot Program] initiative makes possible and offered New York a look at what’s coming.”
“The bridges, tunnels, airports, and rail lines that the Port Authority operates move hundreds of millions of people through this region every year, and our job is to make sure that network keeps pace with the future,” said Port Authority Chair Kevin O’Toole. “This cutting-edge aircraft is exactly the kind of innovation we have a responsibility to test, understand, and help shape for the good of the region and the public.
“These flights advance our work to determine how next-generation aviation technology can serve the people of New York and New Jersey.”