Electric ‘air taxis’ are traveling between JFK Airport and Manhattan this week
Images courtesy of Joby Aviation
New York City’s airspace, one of the nation’s busiest, is getting a new addition: electric flying taxis between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Manhattan. Joby Aviation on Monday announced the completion of the first point-to-point trip of its electric air taxi, developed as part of a federal program aimed at accelerating the introduction of air taxis into U.S. airspace, according to Bloomberg. Starting this week, the test flights, meant to demonstrate the zero-emission, ultra-quiet vehicle, will include human pilots but no passengers, running between JFK and Manhattan destinations at West 30th Street and East 34th Street, as well as the downtown heliport.
Monday’s demonstration marked the first point-to-point trip of an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, also known as an eVTOL, Joby said in a press release. Flights are traveling along existing helicopter routes operated by Blade Urban Air Mobility, a division of Joby.
The air taxi is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Electric Vehicle Takeoff and Landing Integration (elPP) Pilot Program, for which the Port Authority was selected for participation earlier this year.
Joby was chosen by the Port Authority as a partner for the project, and the company will also participate in similar initiatives in 11 other states.
According to Joby, the vehicles will turn one of the slowest commutes in the five boroughs into the fastest. Working with Delta Air Lines and Uber, the air taxis are expected to offer an end-to-end travel experience that turns a 60- to 120-minute drive into a seven-minute flight.
To safely navigate the busy airspace, the flights are supported by TruWeather, which provides weather intelligence, and are monitored by NUAIR, which offers live tracking support.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said the air taxis are “a hundred times quieter” than helicopters. Instead of the low-frequency thumping of a helicopter known to shake buildings and disturb residents, he said the company’s aircraft produces more of a “whoosh,” a broadband sound that blends into the background and dissipates quickly over distance.
Joby conducted a test flight of the vehicle from the downtown Manhattan heliport in 2023.
“New York has always been a city that defines the future by demanding better,” Bevirt said. “We first flew here in 2023, and now, building on years of experience moving people across this city, we’re showing what the next chapter looks like: a quiet, zero operating emissions air taxi service designed to better serve New Yorkers.”
The aircraft’s quiet design is significant, as increased helicopter traffic for tourism, charters, and commuter services has driven a surge in noise complaints across the city in recent years. In 2023, residents filed 59,000 complaints to 311, up from 3,300 in 2019, according to Bloomberg.
Safety is also a key concern following a high-profile crash last year in which a helicopter went down in the Hudson River, killing a Siemens AG executive, his wife, and their three children. Joby says its aircraft are built with redundancies across multiple systems to enhance safety and reliability. The vehicles feature six propellers, each driven by two electric motors connected to separate battery packs, along with three flight computers.
“The bridges, tunnels, airports, and rail lines that the Port Authority operates move hundreds of millions of people through this region every year, and our job is to make sure that network keeps pace with the future,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said.
“This cutting-edge aircraft is exactly the kind of innovation we have a responsibility to test, understand, and help shape for the good of the region and the public,” he added. “These flights advance our work to determine how next-generation aviation technology can serve the people of New York and New Jersey.”
The flights are part of Joby’s 2026 Electric Skies Tour, a national showcase marking the country’s 250th anniversary and highlighting the company’s technology. Joby is still in the final stages of FAA certification, after which it would be permitted to begin commercial operations in the U.S.
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