Dubai aims to beat the traffic with 2026 Joby air taxi liftoff
Joby Aviation conducted the first test flight of its fully-electric air taxi in the emirate this week, a major milestone in the city's efforts to integrate airborne transport into existing mobility networks as early as next year.
Joby hopes its air-taxis will ease pressure on existing ground transportation and offer travelers a faster alternative as Dubai faces increasing congestion.
"We want to change the way people commute," Anthony Khoury, Joby's UAE General Manager, said.
A journey from Dubai's main airport DXB to Palm Jumeirah aboard the Joby Aerial Taxi will take roughly twelve minutes, the company predicts, as opposed to 45 minutes by car.
While Joby's long-term ambition is to make its aerial taxis "affordable for everybody to use," Khoury says, they acknowledge early pricing will likely target higher-income travelers. "As with any novel technology, early days might be a bit more premium."
The demonstration flight was held on Monday at an isolated desert site southeast of Dubai's downtown and was designed to emulate a typical aerial taxi journey, according to Joby Aviation officials.
In a ceremony attended by senior government officials, transport executives and company representatives, the experimental aircraft executed a vertical takeoff, flew for several miles, and then returned for a vertical landing.
The Joby Aerial Taxi, the flagship electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developed by the California-based company, can fly distances of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) at speeds reaching 320km/hr (200mph).
Fully electric, with zero operating emissions, Joby's air-taxi is designed to be both eco-friendly and quiet enough for commercial use in dense urban areas.
'It will be flying in the city, next to residential areas, and hopefully people will barely notice it,' Khoury said. While eVTOLs such as Joby's have been hailed as the future of urban air the industry still faces major hurdles -- including securing regulatory approval and developing sufficient vertiport infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Joby's stock price target from $10 to $7 in April, flagging near-term execution risks and broader aerospace industry concerns, including tariffs and supply-chain issues. Joby is currently trading at $10.55.
In early 2024, Joby signed a contract with Dubai's Roads and Transit Authority that awarded the company exclusive rights to operate aerial taxis in the city for the next six years.
The company plans to inaugurate the emirate's commercial air-taxi service in 2026, with four initial vertiports located at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Downtown and Dubai Marina.
'In aviation, you don't see transformations like this,' said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby's President of Original Equipment Manufacturing.
'Every once in a while, you have this propulsive move into the future. What you're witnessing here is really exciting, and I'm excited for you to be riding this one point in the future.' (Reporting by Abdelhadi Ramahi and Luke Tyson in Dubai; editing by Maha El Dahan, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Business
18 minutes ago
- Gulf Business
VistaJet becomes first foreign operator for domestic Saudi flights
Image: Supplied VistaJet, the first and only global private aviation company within the Vista group, has become the first foreign operator authorised to offer flights within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The agreement underscores VistaJet's commitment to dedicate its services and expertise to support the strategic objectives of the Kingdom, aligned with the vision and implementation of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Leveraging its fully-owned floating fleet, VistaJet is uniquely positioned to provide immediate private aviation services throughout the Kingdom while maintaining operational efficiency across its global operations. With the largest international fleet of Global 7500 aircraft, and soon Global 8000 jets, VistaJet clients can access any global destination non-stop directly from the Kingdom, benefiting from its central geographical location. Nick van der Meer, chief operating officer at VistaJet, said: 'The approval and recognition from GACA marks a significant milestone for Vista's operations in the Kingdom. By expanding our domestic capabilities, we are not only strengthening our regional presence, but also amplifying the efficiency of our global fleet. We are proud to support Vision 2030 and grateful to the leadership and the GACA team for making this possible. This enables us to serve our clients with seamless access across the Kingdom and beyond, ensuring that every journey reflects Vista's commitment to reliability, consistency and world-class service.' Saudi Arabia's aviation industry is undergoing historic transformation as a key pillar of Vision 2030. With ambitions to become a global hub for travel, trade, and investment, the Kingdom and GACA are modernising aviation infrastructure, regulations, and innovation, connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe more efficiently than ever. VistaJet's operations are closely aligned with this vision, providing advanced, sustainable, and interconnected flying solutions globally, with unmatched flexibility and value. Read: Having operated in the market for more than 15 years—longer than any other international operator—VistaJet continues to add significant value to the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a key growth market, with the first half of 2025 seeing a 32 per cent increase in VistaJet Program Members year-over-year, reflecting rising demand for domestic and global travel solutions among local and international clients. Mazen Obaid, president — Middle East at VistaJet, commented: 'We are delighted to be working with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GACA, reinforcing our commitment to offering clients reliable, flexible and trusted flying solutions through our global and regional infrastructure. As a Saudi myself, I am extremely proud and excited for this new venture, and of all the opportunities that I know we can achieve together. We thank the Kingdom and its leadership for its dynamic Vision 2030, and we very much look forward to hiring many local experts and investing locally.' For more than two decades, VistaJet has transformed private aviation, flying clients to over 200 countries and territories with a fleet of more than 270 business jets, spanning super-midsize to global range aircraft, including the flagship Global 7500. This announcement follows VistaJet's successful closing of an Equity and Term Loan B transaction totaling $1.3bn in Q1 2025, demonstrating strong market confidence in its strategy and long-term vision. With expanded operations, enhanced services, and growth in emerging markets, VistaJet's partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GACA represents a major milestone, strengthening its position in a critical market.
The National
18 minutes ago
- The National
Saudi Arabia approves Dubai-based private jet operator VistaJet for domestic flights
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation regulator has authorised Dubai-based VistaJet to offer domestic services in the kingdom, making it the first international private jet operator to enter the local market. The move reflects Saudi Arabia's push to attract investments and contribute to the sector's development, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) said in a statement on Wednesday. 'This step will foster greater competition, stimulate sector growth, and raise the quality of services for private aviation customers in the kingdom and across the region,' Awad Alsulami, executive vice president for economic policies and logistics services at Gaca, said. VistaJet, part of Vista Global Holding, an international private aviation group, is headquartered at the DIFC and founded by Swiss billionaire Thomas Flohr. VistaJet's entry into the Saudi Arabian market comes after the country lifted cabotage restrictions for on-demand charter companies, which came into effect on May 1. Cabotage refers to the right to operate a domestic flight carrying passengers or cargo between two airports within the borders of one country, by an aircraft registered outside of that country. Approving VistaJet's entry into the market is part of the kingdom's efforts to build its general aviation industry. In May last year, Gaca said it aimed to increase the sector's contribution to gross domestic product to 7.8 billion Saudi riyals ($2.08 billion) and create 35,000 jobs by 2030. VistaJet has served the Saudi market for more than 15 years, offering international travel routes. It recorded a 32 per cent year-on-year increase during the first half of 2025 in VistaJet programme members in the kingdom, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The programme membership offers customers a subscription of flight hours on its fleet of mid-and-long-range jets, to fly them anytime and to any destination. 'Given the nature of Vista's fully-owned floating fleet, the company is best positioned to offer immediate private aviation services throughout the kingdom, while ensuring the operational efficiencies of its worldwide operations continue to best serve local clients,' it said. 'With the largest international fleet of Global 7500 aircraft, and soon Global 8000 jets, VistaJet clients can additionally reach any point around the globe non-stop directly from the kingdom, thanks to its strategic central geographical position.' Strong demand As part of its Vision 2030 plan to wean the economy from its dependence on oil, Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop its aviation sector to become a global hub for travel, trade and cargo, while modernising the sector through regulation, infrastructure and foreign investment. Saudi Arabia is anticipating strong demand from foreign investors after it announced plans to develop its private jet industry to attract affluent tourists, corporate travellers, high-ranking government officials and business jet operators and owners to the kingdom, a Gaca official told The National last year. The aviation regulator is in talks with international companies across the supply chain, from business jet makers and fixed-base operators to maintenance and catering service providers, Imtiyaz Manzary, general manager for general aviation at Gaca, said in an interview in May 2024.
Emirates 24/7
18 minutes ago
- Emirates 24/7
UAE serves as model in advancing women's leadership
The UAE has developed a comprehensive framework for women's empowerment, adopting a systematic approach to address challenges, expand opportunities and prepare women for leadership across multiple sectors. These efforts have strengthened the country's competitiveness regionally and globally. National entities, such as the UAE Gender Balance Council and Dubai Women Establishment, have contributed significantly to developing Emirati women's leadership capacities and facilitating their advancement to senior posts in both the public and private sectors, in cooperation with leading international organisations. Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Mouza Mohammed Al Ghuwais Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the UAE Gender Balance Council, said that the Council is intensifying efforts to increase women's participation in the private sector and raise their representation in leadership positions. This, she said, is being achieved through strategies and initiatives aimed at creating inclusive and balanced workplaces, in partnership with strategic stakeholders from both public and private sectors. She highlighted that a number of national and international companies operating in the UAE have joined the 'SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Women's Leadership in the UAE Private Sector'. These companies have voluntarily committed to raising women's representation in middle and senior management roles to at least 30 percent by 2025 for the first group, and by 2028 for the second group of companies that have recently joined the initiative. The UAE Gender Balance Council Strategy 2026 aims to further reduce the gender gap across all sectors, enhance the UAE's ranking in global competitiveness reports on gender equality and achieve gender balance in decision-making positions, as well as promote the UAE's status as a benchmark for gender balance legislation. In this context, the UAE ranked first regionally and 13th globally in the 2025 Gender Inequality Index published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Naeema Ahli, CEO of Dubai Women Establishment, said that advancing Emirati women's leadership remains one of the organisation's key priorities. She noted that the Establishment continues to design and implement advanced training programmes to build leadership skills for women across sectors, while also preparing them for senior roles in international organisations through specialised programmes developed with global institutions and universities with expertise in executive and leadership education. She added that these programmes aim not only to provide women with modern leadership knowledge and skills, but also to strengthen their understanding of leadership dynamics in changing work environments and build their confidence in decision-making roles.
