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Flying taxis may sound like a space-age fantasy, but they could be with us sooner than we think. China has recently approved its first flying taxis for commercial passenger service, granting EHang holdings and its subsidiary Heyi Aviation air operator certificates for short tourism routes.
As extensive piloting and some commercial operations scale in China, the future of flying taxis in the U.S and the U.K could also be just around the corner.
In Washington, the Trump administration has released a new framework designed to speed up the integration of flying taxis into U.S. airspace.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy positioned the decision as a strategic move to compete with the Chinese market. He said:
“America is not the only one that’s innovating. Some of our adversaries are chomping at our heels, or we’re chomping at their heels. The race is on, and that adversary, for the most part, is China.”
Among the U.S companies expanding their testing and network planning in major cities are Archer Aviation, Joby Aviation and Boeing-owned Wisk Aero.
U.S manufacturers have already begun to build out their flying taxi network in major U.S cities like Miami and Los Angeles, primarily envisioning they will be used in lieu of ultra-short haul flights or for short commutable routes and to link airports with metropolitan centres.
Across the Atlantic, UK manufacturer Vertical Aerospace believes flying taxis could be operating in London skies by 2028. Its Valo aircraft, unveiled recently, is a piloted, six-seat eVTOL designed for zero-emissions urban travel.
Capable of flying up to 150 mph with a range of around 100 miles, the company says Valo could cut journeys such as Canary Wharf to Heathrow Airport to about 12 minutes, compared with more than an hour by road.
Vertical Aerospace argues that while early services are likely to focus on premium airport transfers, costs could eventually fall to match those of traditional taxis as production scales and utilisation increases. The company plans to build 175 aircraft by 2030, although regulatory approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Authority remains a sticking point.
Whilst it may take time to win round the general public to these sci-fi contraptions if manufacturers, regulators and investors align, flying taxis may move from a promise into a practicality in recent years; U.S. firms are targeting initial operations overseas as early as 2026, while UK developers have set their sights on 2028.
