The Joby S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft flew near the city of Dubai during a demonstration in November 2025. Joby Aviation
In 2026, the sky over Dubai may stop being just a decoration. It will turn into a new transport artery, along which silent electric taxis will scurry like dragonflies. Joby Aviation, the heiress of the ambitious Uber Elevate project, is ready to launch the world's first commercial urban air taxi service here, in the capital of luxury and technology. This step is not just test flights, but a full—fledged challenge to the traditional understanding of urban mobility.
Heir to the Dream: From Uber Elevate to the Skies of Dubai
The idea of an air taxi avoiding traffic jams has long remained a beautiful fantasy, popularized by Uber in the mid-2010s. However, when the ridesharing giant curtailed its Elevate program in 2020, the little-known at that time Joby Aviation took up the baton. Founded back in 2009, the company didn't just buy the project — it retained its essence. Today, with more than $3 billion in investments (including $900 million from Toyota), Joby has become the leader in the eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles) race.
The secret of their leap forward is the strategic choice of the site. While the U.S. Civil Aviation Administration (FAA) is approaching the certification of new aircraft with extreme caution, amid past scandals with Boeing, Dubai has proposed a different path. The Emirati authorities have not only allowed the tests, but have signed an exclusive six-year agreement with Joby and are actively investing in infrastructure, creating the world's first integrated air mobility service.
Vertiports instead of stops: building an ecosystem from scratch
The key difference between Joby's plans and one—time demonstration flights (like the Chinese EHang) is the creation of a full-fledged ecosystem. Without it, an air taxi will remain an expensive toy. The partnership with the British company Skyports is aimed at designing and building four "vertiports" — analogues of helicopter pads, but with charging infrastructure and logistics hubs.
The first and key will be located at Dubai International Airport (DXB), creating a seamless "plane — air taxi — city" connection.
Other locations will include the Dubai Mall, the Atlantis The Royal Resort, and the university. This choice is not accidental: it covers the key flows — tourists, business travelers and students.
As noted by Alan Head, pilot and senior editor of The Air Current, Dubai's approach impresses with its consistency. At the working meetings, representatives of the Transportation Authority (RTA) asked in-depth questions about security, integration into airspace and protection from cyber threats, striving to build a sustainable system, and not just a spectacular PR project.
Getting Ahead of Certification: A Risky Race against Time
The boldest and most controversial aspect of the Dubai strategy is the schedule. Joby plans to start trial flights with passengers (so far without payment) as early as 2026, even before receiving a full-fledged type certificate from the FAA. Usually, such a document is a prerequisite for any commercial transportation. Dubai is willing to take a reasonable risk, considering this stage as a "demonstration of capabilities" and an important step for data collection.
This confidence made even the conservative FAA nervous. In September 2025, the US agency announced its pilot eVTOL integration program, clearly trying to catch up with the UAE initiative. The program will allow the launch of test flights over US cities, but, unlike Dubai, strictly without paying passengers on board. Thus, while Joby will work out the customer experience in the Emirates, in the States their devices will fly only with pilots.
Competition on the horizon and the battle for the future
Although Joby has taken the lead, it's too early to relax. The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market is getting hotter and hotter.
Chinese EHang is already conducting autonomous tourist flights, relying on the complete absence of a pilot.
European Volocopter is actively working on certification in the EU and has also chosen Dubai as one of the first sites.
Other players, such as Archer Aviation and Lilium, are actively attracting financing and entering into partnerships with airlines.
Success in Dubai will be not just a premiere for Joby, but a critical case that every future smart city logistics service will have to study. Potentially, such air traffic control systems for an unmanned fleet can become the next stage of development, where solutions for automated dispatching and "assignment of tasks" will be in demand more than ever. In the future, platforms for coordinating autonomous vehicles, similar to how JOBTOROB.com focuses on robots that can become the digital foundation for these new aerial cities.
The main issue now is not the technological capability, but the economy and public perception. Will air taxis be able to become not an exclusive service for a select few, but an affordable alternative for millions? Dubai 2026 will provide the first, but extremely important answer.
