Air taxis and other electric-powered aircraft cleared for takeoff with final FAA rules

The Federal Aviation Administration published highly anticipated final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles that it says will chart the path for the "air travel of the future."

The FAA says these "powered-lift" vehicles will be the first completely new category of aircraft since helicopters were introduced in 1940. These aircraft will be used for a variety of services, including air taxis, cargo delivery, and rescue and retrieval operations. The final rules published today contain guidelines for pilot training as well as operational requirements regarding minimum safe altitudes and visibility.

"Powered lift aircraft are the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years," FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement. "This historic rule will pave the way for accommodating wide-scale Advanced Air Mobility operations in the future." 

Powered lift includes aircraft described by industry watchers as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL. Using tilt rotors, eVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and then transition into forward flight on fixed wings like a plane. 

Numerous startups, including Joby Aviation, Archer, and Wisk, are planning on launching commercial air taxi services with these new types of aircraft in the next few years. And for years, the FAA has promised there would be a regulatory pathway for powered-lift designs certified under Part 23 as normal aircraft.

But, in 2022, the agency changed course, determining instead that the aircraft would need to obtain Part 21 certification for special class vehicles. That kicked off a yearslong process to develop an entirely new set of rules for training, operations, maintenance, and more.

The rules that were eventually introduced last year were panned by industry groups as too strict. They called for performance-based operational rules, rather than the creation of a new powered-lift category, as proposed by the FAA. The agency argues its newly finalized rules should address those concerns, while also maintaining the safety and rigor the industry is known for. Earlier this year, Congress gave the FAA more sway in regulating these new types of aircraft.