FAA Selects Eight Projects to Launch Electric Air Taxi Operations Across 26 States by Summer 2026
The DOT and FAA chose eight state-led eVTOL pilot programs covering 26 states, enabling companies like Joby, Archer, and BETA Technologies to begin passenger and cargo air taxi operations as early as summer 2026.
Overview
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration on March 9 announced the selection of eight state-led projects under the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), allowing electric aircraft companies to begin real-world passenger and cargo operations across 26 states before receiving full FAA type certification. Flight operations are expected to begin as early as summer 2026 under a three-year program.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the selection as a turning point for American aviation. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Duffy said the program will “radically redefine personal travel, regional transportation, cargo logistics, emergency medicine, and so much more.”
The Eight Selected Projects
According to AVweb, the FAA selected the following eight lead organizations:
- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — 12 operational concepts across New England, including eVTOL passenger service at the Manhattan heliport
- Texas Department of Transportation — Regional flights linking Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, plus intra-city air taxi networks
- Florida Department of Transportation — Statewide operations spanning cargo delivery, passenger service, medical response, and automation testing
- Louisiana State Government — Cargo and personnel transport for the offshore energy industry in the Gulf
- Utah Department of Transportation
- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
- North Carolina Department of Transportation
- City of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Together, the projects span 26 states — a geographic reach that reflects the diversity of use cases the program intends to stress-test, from dense urban corridors to rural emergency response and industrial logistics.
Industry Partners
The eight projects collectively involve a cohort of U.S.-based eVTOL manufacturers and operators. According to AVweb, participating companies include Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies, Joby Aviation, Electra, Wisk, Ampaire, Elroy Air, and Reliable Robotics.
Joby Aviation confirmed its participation, noting the company accumulated more than 50,000 flight miles across three countries and 850 test flights in 2025 in preparation for commercial operations. Joby also became the first eVTOL company to finalize a certification blueprint — known as a G-1 agreement — with the FAA.
How the eIPP Works
The program was created under President Trump’s Unleashing Drone Dominance Executive Order and authorizes eVTOL operations in U.S. cities before the aircraft receive full FAA type certification — a process that can take years and has been a primary bottleneck for the industry. Under the eIPP, public-private partnerships between state or local governments and U.S.-based companies may conduct flight operations using pre-certified aircraft under controlled, data-collection conditions.
FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau said the partnerships will help the agency “better understand how to safely and efficiently integrate these aircraft into the National Airspace System,” according to AVweb. The data gathered during the three-year program is intended to inform future regulatory frameworks.
Why This Matters
The eIPP announcement represents the most concrete step yet toward commercial eVTOL operations in the United States, a market that analysts have long projected could reshape short-range travel in congested urban areas and underserved rural regions.
The program’s breadth — eight projects, 26 states, eight manufacturers, and use cases spanning passenger taxis, cargo, medical transport, and offshore energy logistics — signals that the federal government is moving from regulatory study to operational deployment. According to TechCrunch, the FAA received more than 30 proposals before narrowing to the eight selections, indicating strong commercial interest well beyond the handful of companies that have dominated headlines.
For companies like Joby and Archer, the eIPP provides a path to revenue-generating operations and real-world safety data while parallel certification work continues — a structure that could meaningfully compress the years-long gap between technology readiness and commercial launch.