US AVIATION regulators released final safety rules for the nascent air taxi industry on Tuesday (Oct 22), crossing a key milestone for companies such as Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation to eventually begin commercial operations.
The new rules lay out requirements for pilot training, as well as aircraft operations. Air taxi companies have been waiting for the rules, which they have said will offer clarity that’s crucial for them to start commercial flights in the US as soon as the end of next year.
“It’s designed to be very flexible,” Michael Whitaker, head of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said during a conference in Las Vegas. In a statement, the agency added that the regulations are the “final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term”.
Investors applauded the move, with Joby’s shares surging 12 per cent at 2 pm in New York, while Archer’s stock rose 6.4 per cent.
Firms such as Joby and Archer are betting their battery-powered air taxis, also known as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, will revolutionise the aviation landscape by cutting down on commute times in congested urban areas. However, both are still waiting for the FAA to certify their vehicles.
“The regulation published today will ensure the US continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight,” JoeBen Bevirt, Joby ’s founder and CEO, said.
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Global interest
The air taxi industry has drawn global interest and investments from major players in traditional transportation. Toyota Motor announced earlier this month that it was boosting its investment in Joby by US$500 million, bringing its total stake to US$894 million. Delta Air Lines is also an investor in the firm, which plans to fly people to airports in New York and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Stellantis, the European carmaker that owns Chrysler and Fiat, is the largest shareholder in Archer.
The FAA said that these aircraft, which it refers to as “powered lift”, are the first completely new civil category to be introduced since helicopters in the 1940s. Possible operations can include air taxis, cargo delivery and air ambulance services, it said.
The government made changes in the final package that companies sought after seeing the proposed rules in 2023. That includes a tweak to allow flight training to occur in aircraft that only have a single set of controls. A previous version required dual controls, which the industry argued would have forced them to take the costly and time-consuming step of designing a different model just for that purpose. BLOOMBERG
