Full vertiport automation is not achievable before 2075 according to leading AI and aviation experts. So what does the right balance between AI and human decision-making actually look like — and what happens to the passenger experience if companies get it wrong?
The vehicles are real. The investment is real. The infrastructure that makes those vehicles commercially viable does not yet exist at the scale any business model requires. Twenty-four vertiports broke ground in 2024 against a planned pipeline of 1,504. The honest state of AAM in April 2026.
The geopolitical shift underway in Washington is real and consequential for Advanced Air Mobility. Federal funding is realigning toward defense and away from clean energy and alternative mobility programs. For a sector that has long relied on the DoD revenue bridge as its near-term survival mechanism, that shift creates opportunity for some OEMs — and accelerates existential pressure for others.
Volunteer paramedics in Hyde County, North Carolina are about to take the controls of Pivotal’s ultralight eVTOL — no pilot certificate required. The proof-of-concept program targets first-responder speed, terrain access, and situational awareness across EMS, fire, and search and rescue. For the AAM industry, it’s one of the most operationally grounded real-world deployments yet of electric air mobility in public safety.
Set aside the courtroom drama for a moment. The part of the Advanced Air Mobility industry that’s actually building things — certifying propulsion systems, rolling out new prototypes, deploying aircraft for emergency response, and pivoting legacy helicopter companies toward autonomy — is moving faster than the headlines suggest. Here’s a clear-eyed look at what happened in the past two weeks and what it means.
Electra has been named the premier private company participant in the U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA’s inaugural eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. With 2,200 pre-orders worth nearly $10 billion and a hybrid-electric aircraft that takes off and lands in 150 feet, Electra is making a compelling case that advanced air mobility doesn’t need airports — it just needs the right aircraft.
On March 11, 2026, Joby Aviation crossed one of the most significant thresholds in eVTOL history: its first FAA-conforming aircraft took flight at Marina, California, officially entering Stage 5 — the final phase of FAA Type Certification. This is not a prototype. This is the production-intent aircraft that FAA pilots will evaluate before Joby is cleared to carry paying passengers. The finish line is now visible.
Japan’s SkyDrive has secured agreement with the JCAB on its General Certification Plan for the SD-05 eVTOL, marking one of the most significant milestones yet on the road to type certification and a planned 2028 commercial launch in Japan and the U.S.
Japan’s leading eVTOL manufacturer just completed its first-ever public flights over Tokyo — testing everything from biometric check-in to compact rooftop vertiport operations. Now SkyDrive is bringing that momentum to Atlanta, where a major U.S. partnership announcement is set for March 9 at Verticon 2026. We’ve been watching SkyDrive for almost a decade.
Joby books its first Uber passengers. Germany’s ERC System takes Romeo into the sky. EASA rewrites the rulebook for air taxi pilots. And a UK battery startup just hit a milestone that matters for every eVTOL on the drawing board. Your week in electric air mobility, February 27, 2026.