Dubai puts public safety first ahead of 2026 air taxi launch

Dubai is set to become the first city in the world to offer commercial air taxi services next year, but officials said gaining public confidence in a new technology will be a key challenge.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of the Public Transport Agency at Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said the emirate has a clear pathway to certify the aircraft and launch the service safely.
“Our aim is to launch a commercial service by 2026. We have a very clear plan towards the qualification of the aircraft with Joby and our partners from the civil aviation authorities,” he said during Dubai Airshow.
“That involves testing that’s going to happen here in Dubai and in the US as well.”

Bahrozyan said flights will begin in early 2025, piloted and without passengers, using actual vertiports. “We might see a gap where more testing is happening in the US and then coming back again to Dubai,” he noted.

Awareness campaigns

“Towards the end of next year, that’s when our plan is to launch a commercial service, meaning that we will be able to ferry passengers for a fee. Before that, we could see passengers in the aircraft during testing but that would be non-commercial.”
RTA will also roll out public awareness campaigns to explain the certification process and safety features. “It’s important for people to feel safe,” Bahrozyan said.

Joby’s safety system

One of Dubai’s key partners, Joby Aviation, said it welcomes the rigorous testing and regulatory demands. Anthony Khoury, General Manager – UAE at Joby Aviation, stressed that passengers will only be allowed onboard once the company meets all safety and certification requirements.

“Safety has been one of our core principles since we started in 2009,” Khoury said at the Dubai Airshow.

He explained that Joby’s electric aircraft are built with multiple layers of redundancy.
“Each aircraft has six propellers. Each propeller has two inverters linked to separate electrical circuits, and each circuit connects to a different battery pack. If a propeller improbably goes down, the aircraft continues functioning normally. Another inverter kicks in, and the aircraft keeps flying safely, even with potential issues with any component.”

Progress after desert trials

Joby recently completed a first crewed eVTOL flight from its test site in Margham to Al Maktoum International Airport after earlier successful trials in the Dubai desert. The California-based firm is now preparing for test flights over the city in coordination with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority.

“So, we will be operating our own aircraft here in Dubai,” Khoury said. “We’re working with the GCAA on an Air Operator Certificate, which gives you the ability to transport passengers. We’ve already hired more than 11 employees in Dubai, including four managers. We have an MRO, a base of operation, which is Margham. We have an office at One Central. We’ve put in place everything necessary to build a strong operation out of Dubai,” Khoury added.