Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Dubai to launch air taxi service in 2026

By Pramod Kumar
Dubai's air taxis will operate from four 'vertiports', carrying a pilot and four passengers at 320km per hour Wam
Dubai's air taxis will operate from four 'vertiports', carrying a pilot and four passengers at 320km per hour

Dubai is planning to launch an air taxi service in 2026, using Joby Aviation’s fully electric vehicles.

In February, Joby Aviation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, announced plans to soft-launch air taxi services in Dubai by early 2025.

The air taxis are designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at 320km per hour, taking passengers from Dubai International Airport to Palm Jumeirah in 10-12 minutes compared with 45 minutes by road.

The air taxis will focus on providing a service from hotels and the airport, he said.

The air taxis will operate from four ‘vertiports’: Dubai International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Dubai Downtown, said Tyler Trerotola, general manager for the Middle East at Joby Aviation.

The first vertiport is slated to start operating in the first quarter of 2026, state-run Wam news agency reported, citing Khaled Al Awadhi, director of the transportation systems department at Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)..

Skyports Infrastructure, a UK-based vertiport infrastructure developer, has signed an agreement with RTA this year.

In April, Joby Aviation signed agreements with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport, Department of Economic Development and Department of Culture and Tourism to establish and expand air taxi operations in the UAE capital. 

Last November, the US company became the first to fly an electric air taxi in New York City. It has raised over $2 billion in funding, which includes investments from Toyota, Delta Air Lines, SK Telecom, Uber and Baillie Gifford.

Latest articles

Taaleem's schools offer 'exclusive educational experiences' including access to high-tech equipment profits

Dubai school operator Taaleem increases profit by 55%

Dubai school operator Taaleem has reported revenue of AED945.2 million ($257.3 million) for its 2023-24 financial year – a 15.5 percent year-on-year increase. More student enrolments and the opening of new schools helped Taaleem to increase net profit before tax by 55 percent, to AED182 million, in the financial year ending August. Taaleem’s shares were […]

Shein IPO

Mubadala-backed Shein courts investors before London IPO

Chinese fashion retailer Shein, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, is courting European investors before an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. Shein is due to hold informal meetings to answer questions and test the investment appetite of major investors in the coming weeks, before its planned IPO […]

Workers stand on a scaffold in Dubai. Building a high rise in the UAE can be as much as two thirds cheaper than in other major cities

Apartments in UAE among cheapest to build in the world

Building a standard residential high-rise in Dubai or Abu Dhabi is up to two-thirds cheaper than in other major global cities, thanks to land, labour and raw materials all costing much less. Land is up to three times cheaper in the UAE compared with the prices paid in New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore […]

Despite challenges to the economy, Kuwait's bank sector remained resilient, the country's central bank says

Kuwait’s economy holds up against challenges, says central bank

Robust spending and “long-due” structural reforms expected to accelerate following “recent political developments” will help Kuwait’s economy overcome some challenges, according to the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK). Kuwait faced multiple challenges in 2023 in the face of high inflation, rising global interest rates and bubbling geopolitical tensions in the region, according to CBK’s 12th […]