Air Taxis In Dubai: Soon, Book Trips Through App, Then Catch An Uber And Fly Through The Skies

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Mon 16 Sep 2024, 5:30 PM

Last updated: Mon 16 Sep 2024, 10:47 PM

The highly-anticipated flying taxis will be up in Dubai as early as the last quarter of 2025, and an aerial ridesharing service – that combines conventional ridesharing with flight services – will be introduced to ensure customers will be served from home or office to their final destination.

The assurance was made by Tyler Trerotola, general manager of California-based air-taxi company Joby Aviation, on Monday, at the start of the five-day Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress and Exhibition in Dubai.

Trerotola said they have pushed ahead with the planned launch of Joby's electric air taxi from 2026 to end of 2025. He also confirmed to Khaleej Times that they have made an agreement with Uber to pick customers from their point of origin and bring them to any of the four vertiports across Dubai, then from the vertiport to their last stop.

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Initially, four vertiports will be constructed by Skyports Infrastructure (Skyports) located at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah , Dubai Downtown and Dubai Marina. Trerotola said a typical journey from DXB to Palm Jumeirah is expected to take only 10 minute by air taxi, unlike approximately 45 minutes by car.

Tretola added booking an air taxi will be through a mobile app and Uber will serve as the first-and last-mile solution.

Last week, Joby Aviation Inc. applied to become the first certified air taxi operator in the Dubai.

The air operator certificate is a requirement issued by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate commercial air transport in the country.

In February this year, Joby signed a definitive agreemen with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch air taxi services in the city. This was followed in April by a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Municipalities and Transport – Abu Dhabi (DMT), the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi).

Tretola did not reveal the price point for taking a flying taxi in Dubai, noting it will be dependent on market demand.“But we will scale up the market to get to a point where the fare will come down,” he added, emphasising:“We are offering a premium service.”

The eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) air taxi can carry up to five passengers, including the pilot, noted Tretola. Its flying range is up to 160km at 320-km per hour at an altitude of 1,640 feet.

Tretola also boasted the air taxi – designed to fly customers across the city any time of the day – will not make much of a noise unlike regular helicopters as it registered only 45 decibels during trials –“much like the sound of rainfall”.

With regards to flight safety, Tretola told Khaleej Times they have done about 60,000km test flights.“Pilots who will fly the air taxis are commercial pilots trained in the US,” he added, noting they have yet to announce the number of pilots and air taxis that will be made available at the start of operations next year.

Tretola also underscored they will be the exclusive air taxi operator in Dubai but there are other major players across the UAE.

Archer Aviation, another US-based air transport company, had earlier conducted more than 400 test flight of 'Midnight' in preparation for their launch next year. The company, which will operate the taxis, conducted 402 tests in the first eight months, surpassing their target of 400 test runs four months ahead of the schedule set for 2025.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Mahboob, CEO of corporate administrative support services at Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) – host of 30th ITS World Congress – said Dubai authorities are studying allocating dedicated lanes for autonomous vehicles, including a dedicated flight path for aerial taxis.

Dubai aims to transform 25 per cent of the total transportation across the emirate to autonomous mode by 2030. Mahboob said the city already has dedicated lanes for soft mobility, including bikes and e-scooters. The RTA is also studying expanding the dedicated lanes for buses along major roads to ensure smooth journey and boost road safety.

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