FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas is beginning test flights this fall as part of a statewide effort to prepare for future air-taxi service and other next-generation aviation operations.

The Texas Department of Transportation announced Thursday it is launching the first phase of Project Nexus, a multistate testing program designed to help safely integrate electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, known as eVTOLs, into Texas airspace.

The initial flights will use traditional aircraft, including helicopters and fixed-wing planes, rather than carrying passengers in electric air taxis.

State officials said the tests are intended to collect data, validate potential routes and help develop a framework for future advanced air mobility operations.

The Federal Aviation Administration selected TxDOT’s proposal in March for its Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program.

TxDOT says Project Nexus will involve Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and the Choctaw Nation as officials study how advanced aircraft could operate across urban, rural and interstate airspace.

“Project Nexus is a first-of-its-kind opportunity to gather real-world data, improve safety and build a framework for how electric aircraft could one day connect people, goods and communities across the state,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams.

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The project is expected to unfold in phases over three years.

Later testing will focus on medical and cargo logistics, including the potential transport of critical medical supplies or organs between rural facilities and medical centers in Austin and San Antonio.

The final phase is expected to involve passenger “air taxi” flights across the Texas Triangle, connecting the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.

TxDOT previously said the federal pilot program could help develop regulations for the safe, broader use of the emerging technology.

The agency describes advanced air mobility as an aviation system that could use electric or hybrid-electric aircraft for passenger travel, cargo delivery and emergency services.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and TxDOT officials launched the first phase Thursday at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, where manufacturers and operators also demonstrated aircraft.

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