WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New York City has witnessed first-ever point-to-point electricvertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi demonstration flights, which aims to connect heliports in Manhattan to JFK International Airport in less than 10 minutes.
Once approved and fully become operational, it will save travelers significant amount of time, far less than the current one-to two-hour drive.
Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, started a week-long public campaign across the city's existing heliport network last Friday.
Framed against the most iconic skyline in the world, the campaign offers the first real-world demonstration of how electric air taxis, which are quiet and produce zero operating emissions, will be able to connect the region, linking vertiports, international airports, and communities across the New York metropolitan area.
Joby's aircraft - N545JX - departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport and landed across the city's existing heliport network, including Downtown Skyport, and the West 30th Street and East 34th Street Heliports in Midtown, home to Blade Air Mobility's premium passenger lounges. Together, these sites trace some of the commercial routes the company envisions for New York, connecting Lower Manhattan and Midtown to JFK in under 10 minutes.
'New York has always been a city that defines the future by demanding better,' said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. 'We first flew here in 2023, and now we're showing what the next chapter looks like: a quiet, zero operating emissions air taxi service designed to better serve New Yorkers. This week, flying between JFK and Manhattan, we showed what the White House-backed eIPP initiative makes possible and offered New York a look at what's coming.'
'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,' said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O'Toole.
Led by the NYC Economic Development Corporation, and in partnership with Skyports Infrastructure and Vertiports by Atlantic, New York City's heliport infrastructure will be electrified in anticipation of the launch of commercial air taxi service.
Joby owns helicopter ride-share company Blade, which carried more than 90,000 passengers in 2025 in Manhattan and at key New York area airports with traditional helicopters.
Blade provides the foundation for commercial electric air taxi service at scale and will accelerate the city's transition from the use of helicopters to quiet and emission-free aircraft, Joby Aviation said in a press release.
Through partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Uber, Joby aims to connect ground transportation and air travel in a single journey. In a city where a typical commuter lost, by one estimate, 102 hours to traffic congestion in 2025, Joby's goal is to reclaim that time by transforming a 60-to-120-minute drive to JFK into a seven-minute flight.
In March, the Department of Transportation selected eight pilot programs as part of the Federal Aviation Administration's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, spanning 12 states.
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