Joby Aviation flies electric air taxi from JFK to Manhattan in demo
A Joby electric aircraft flew from JFK to Manhattan in New York’s first point-to-point eVTOL demo, but passenger service still depends on certification and approvals.
Joby Aviation took its electric air taxi from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Manhattan on Monday, a demonstration run that the company and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said marked the first point-to-point eVTOL flight demonstration in New York City history. The flight had no passengers aboard, but it was designed to show how a pilot-operated aircraft could link the airport with the city’s heliport network.
The aircraft, with an egg-shaped cabin and six tilt-rotor propellers, touched down at Manhattan heliports including West 30th Street, East 34th Street and Downtown Skyport at Wall Street. Joby said the route is meant to preview a future commute that could take under 10 minutes, replacing a 60-minute to 120-minute drive with a flight of about seven minutes. The company has said its aircraft is designed to carry one pilot and up to four passengers and can travel as fast as 200 mph with zero-operating-emissions flight and far less noise than a conventional helicopter.
The demonstration also underscored how much work remains before commercial service becomes real. Joby said it still cannot carry passengers in New York and is advancing toward Federal Aviation Administration certification. The company said the campaign followed the inaugural flight of its conforming aircraft for Type Inspection Authorization, a step that would allow FAA pilots to conduct for-credit test flights. The FAA announced its eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in September 2025, and the Port Authority was selected in March 2026 as one of eight projects nationwide to participate in the program.
For Joby, the New York flights are part of a larger commercial strategy that already extends beyond one city. The company acquired Blade Air Mobility’s passenger business in August 2025, and Blade served more than 90,000 passengers in 2025. Joby has also lined up partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Uber, and the two companies have said riders eventually will be able to book air taxis through the Uber app.
The New York stop is part of Joby’s 2026 national demonstration tour and its 2026 Electric Skies Tour, which previously included a flight over the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area. The public show of force is meant to prove the technology can move from test flights to daily transportation, but the path to widespread service still runs through certification, infrastructure, noise rules and public acceptance.
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