Flying Taxis To Take Off in Dubai Once More Around 2026
If you want to describe Dubai briefly, it is all about luxury, showiness, and being very fancy. Dubai is a modern city with tall buildings, beautiful beaches, busy seaports, and sunny deserts. Also, it is one of the best places to shop and visit, where there’s always something happening. It has many fun things to do and see that will keep everyone interested. It also has many ways to invest, like promising real estate in Dubai and many good business chances.
Many job-seekers and business owners have been moving to Dubai in recent years, and in 2021, a lot of millionaires also moved there. Strong demand leads to the regular launch of luxury projects in Dubai to satisfy the needs of rich local and foreign investors and expats.
But If you’re tired of traffic in Dubai, you’ll be happy to hear that flying taxis will start operating there in early 2026.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that its first completely electric air taxis will start working in a little over 18 months. They will first operate at four special landing areas called vertiports.
Powered by Joby Aviation, Dubai’s new high-tech transport system is made to connect important places in the city and to the airport. The first flying taxis will run from Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, and Downtown. The specific spots for the vertiports in these areas were not provided.
Dubai – A Modern City
Dubai is the best place to live, work, invest, and visit in 2023 for many reasons, including its high-quality lifestyle for its residents. Dubai is famous for its profitable real estate and has many amazing buildings, including the biggest in the world, the Burj Khalifa. This time, Dubai’s skyline will change not because of new tall buildings, but because of flying taxis.
Plan for Flying Taxis Back on Track
Business Bay, JVC, and Dubai Marina are expected to boost the Dubai real estate market. Restarting the flying taxi project will make luxury living in the city even more appealing. The people involved have been working on flying taxis since 2017, but the project was stopped for a while. This week, Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced on Twitter that the program is starting again.
He also said that Dubai is still planning to work on the flying taxi program, which should be finished by 2026. It is important to point out that:
- The flying taxi program will begin in three years.
- Sheikh Mohammed has agreed to the plans for new air taxi stations around the city.
- The leader also shared a promotional video on Twitter.
- The plane is expected to hold four passengers and one pilot.
- These air taxis can travel as fast as 300 kilometres an hour.
- Taxis can only be used between the vertiports.
- Air taxis will take off and land vertically without producing any harmful emissions.
Some companies were looked at and shown in Dubai, but officials didn’t explain why they chose Joby Aviation instead of the Chinese-made EHang 184 and XPeng X2 or the German-made electric Volocopter.
Who is Leading the Project?
A promotional video shows that the current flying taxi has a six-rotor design made by Joby Aviation, a company based in Santa Cruz, California. The US aviation company also shared a tweet about the new technology they will use for this project.
Joby Aviation tweeted that “Dubai is a fast-growing and innovative place for business. We were happy to show Joby to @HHShkMohd today and talk about how aerial ridesharing can benefit Dubai.”
Where Will the Air Taxi Stop?
Another exciting development for this project is that officials have announced where to build air taxi stations in the city. At first, there will be four air taxi stations called “vertiports” located near:
- PalmÂ
- Dubai MarinaÂ
- Downtown Dubai
- Dubai International Airport
In addition to that, there will be four charging stations for air taxis and two places where they can take off.
What are Vertiports?
Vertiports are special places where flying taxis or drones can take off and land. They are designed for vertical takeoff and landing, which means the vehicles go straight up and down instead of needing long runways like regular airplanes.
These vertiports will have several facilities, including areas for take-off and landing, a waiting area for passengers, security measures, and places to charge electric vehicles. The authority has been planning these stations to work well with other ways to travel. For example, the vertiport near Dubai International Airport will be linked to the Metro Station too. This will make Dubai the first city in the world to have a complete system of vertiports.
RTA at work
Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) said it has been collaborating with top companies in advanced air transport, like Skyports Infrastructure and Joby Aviation.
“We think these places have good business and tourist spots that could create a lot of interest,” said Ahmed Bahrozyan, an official from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
Bahrozyan explained that the cost of flying taxis will be similar to or a bit more than a limousine service in Dubai. The RTA says that limo service prices are at least 30% more than regular taxi prices in Dubai.
The RTA has decided to start with flying taxis that have pilots instead of self-driving ones, which is different from their earlier plans. According to Bahrozyan, the pilot will have seats for passengers, similar to Joby’s electric flying taxi. Bahrozyan said they would also test flying taxis that operate on their own.
What do People Think?
Allowing flying taxis in the skies would be a great idea and many people in Dubai have reacted positively to it. Flying taxis in Dubai will be really helpful for people stuck in traffic. The traffic is getting worse because more and more people are moving to Dubai, with the population growing to over 3. 5 Million.
Archer is teaming up with many businesses in the UAE to help launch its services there by 2026. Archer made agreements with Falcon Aviation to run its air taxis in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They also teamed up with GAL-AMMROC, which will help with maintenance and support for Archer’s eVTOL planes.
