Joby Aviation, Inc. completed the first-ever point-to-point electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi demonstration flights in New York City?s history, marking the start of a week-long public campaign across the city?s existing heliport network. The campaign offers the first real-world demonstration of how electric air taxis, which 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. Joby's aircraft (N545JX) departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and landed across the city?s existing heliport network, including Downtown Skyport, and the West 30th Street and East 34th Street Heliports in Midtown.
Together, these sites trace some of the commercial routes the company envisions for New York, connecting Lower Manhattan and Midtown to JFK in under 10 minutes. Joby?s electric air taxi flies over New York City during a 10-day flight campaign celebrating the FAA?s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), showcasing quiet, zero operating emissions air travel across the city, including flights to JFK. Joby?s aircraft has been specifically designed with redundancies across multiple systems to enhance safety and reliability.
Its proprietary design achieves a considerably lower noise footprint than similarly sized conventional aircraft or helicopters, and its acoustic signature blends into the ambient sounds of everyday city life. Joby continues to make progress in the final stages of FAA certification, marked by the recent flight of its first conforming aircraft for TIA, which will pave the way for FAA pilots to carry out for-credit tests. Building on a series of piloted demonstrations across the San Francisco Bay Area, the New York campaign puts the aircraft in real flight routes and real environments in one of the world?s most dynamic cities, demonstrating the acoustics and performance metrics that are critical to unlocking the urban aerial ridesharing market.
The flights continue Joby?s 2026 Electric Skies Tour, a national showcase timed to celebrate the United States? 250th anniversary, following the tour?s inaugural Bay Area flight campaign, which included a landmark flight over the Golden Gate Bridge.
