Flying Taxi Vertiport Getting Set for New York City
The vertiport is located at Pier 6 on the East River on the east side of Manhattan
by Chuck Martin, Editorial Director AI & IoT
A New York City vertiport for the takeoff and landings of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles has been unveiled as the Downtown Skyport, the former Downtown Manhattan Heliport.
The renaming was unveiled this week by the New York Economic Development Corporation along with the introduction of the new site management, a joint venture between Skyports Infrastructure and Group ADP.
The vertiport, located at Pier 6 on the East River in Manhattan, is part of New York’s plan to create sustainable transportation and last-mile freight delivery.
Construction of the infrastructure is planned for later this year in advance of the Federal Aviation Administration expected certification for eVTOL commercial operations. The skyport is expected to facilitate last-mile maritime freight deliveries.
“New York City will be the first in the United States to launch commercial eVTOL operations, and the transformation of this heliport will enable that innovation,” Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports said in the announcement. “eVTOLs are 100 times quieter than traditional helicopters during takeoff, so modernizing the heliport will improve the quality of life for millions of New Yorkers, while generating new economic activity and accelerating last-mile freight delivery across the City’s waterways.”
Related:Air Taxi Network for New York City Unveiled; United Airlines Partnership
The 34th Street Heliport also is being converted to handle electric air taxis, a process that started last year.
Skyports is involved in developing ventiports outside of New York.
Earlier this year, Skyports Infrastructure and AI-powered drone technology company Lodd introduced new vertiport designs to move cargo and passengers in Abu Dhabi.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding agreement at the ICAO Global Implementation Support Symposium 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
The planned vertiport network aims to facilitate the growth of eVTOL vehicles and autonomous aerial logistics in the region.
The plan is to use electric aerial vehicles to connect key sites within Abu Dhabi, with the potential to connect between other Emirates.
Planned EAV operations include both piloted air taxis and self-flying, AI-enabled passenger and cargo vehicles.
Skyports also has received technical design approval for a vertiport in Dubai, the first commercial vertiport in the UAE.
The General Civil Aviation Authority approved the facility being built at Dubai International Vertiport, adjacent to Dubai International Airport.
Skyports is continuing with the development of its facility, where commercial air taxi operations are scheduled to begin.
Related:Air Taxi Company Starts Manufacturing Plant in China
The vertiport was the first to be approved under the newly established UAE Vertiport Regulations and the first of four being developed with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority and Joby Aviation.
Design approval involved an assessment of physical dimensions, layout, airspace considerations, obstacle environment and rescue and firefighting services, with Skyports demonstrating a firefighting strategy for battery and traditional fuel fires. Construction started on the vertiport late last year.
Vertiports are used for takeoff and landing, passenger loading and unloading and battery charging between flights.
The vertiport is for takeoff and landing for the Joby eVTOL air taxi.
Joby planned for the four initial locations to form its vertiport network for the air taxi service in the UAE.
In addition to DBX, Joby vertiports would be developed at Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai and the Dubai Marina.
Travel in the Joby flying taxi from DBX to Palm Jumeirah would take 12 minutes, compared to a 45-minute drive.
Joby, the RTA and Skyports signed a deal last year providing Joby with exclusive access to the Dubai air taxi market for six years.
Related:Air Taxi Company Shows New Seating for Flying Vehicles
The Joby electric flying taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers and travel up to 200 mph.
The company also plans to operate its EAVs in New York City and Los Angeles along with its partner Delta Air Lines, while Delta and Joby are expected to use the 34th Street Heliport in New York City, which is also being converted to manage eVTOL air taxis.
The EAV maker has conducted exhibition flights with Toyota in Japan, in the eVTOL company’s first flights outside the U.S.
Toyota has been investing in Joby since 2019, starting with Toyota Ventures, in addition to sharing knowledge of the Toyota systems for planning, manufacturing methods and tooling design.
Joby last year announced a public offering of common stock to raise $202 million.
That funding followed a $500 million investment by Toyota, which brought its total investment in the EAV maker to $894 million.
That initial investment grew to $394 million and Toyota engineers now work side-by-side with Joby staff in California
Joby and Toyota signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for Joby’s EAVs.
Joby has applied to become the first certified air taxi operator in the UAE.
Joby already has partnership with the UAE through a memorandum of understanding with the
Department of Municipalities and Transport Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the Department of Culture and Tourism, setting Joby up to establish and scale flying taxi services in Abu Dhabi and beyond.
Joby has raised more than $2 billion from Toyota, Delta Air Lines, SK Telecom and Uber and has logged more than 33,00 miles of flight with a full-scale prototype, according to the company.
While Joby is partnered with Delta, Archer Aviation, the other major air taxi company, has a partnership with United Airlines.
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