Dubai relaunches flying taxi plans

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai has relaunched plans to have flying taxis in its futuristic city-state on the Arabian Peninsula, offering on Monday the most concrete details yet for a launch of the service in 2026.

The commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates began promising in 2017 the addition of flying taxis in a city that is already home to the world’s tallest building and other architectural marvels. Various companies and prototypes have been the subject of the announcements, with most hoping to arrive in time for the annual Government Summit in Dubai, which kicked off this year’s edition on Monday.

Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the revamped flying taxi scheme on Twitter on Sunday. This time, the promotional video featured a six-rotor electric model produced by Joby Aviation of Santa Cruz, California.

Emirati officials gave no explanation that the Joby Aviation prototype replaced the Chinese-made EHang 184 and XPeng X2 or the German Volocopter that was unveiled earlier in Dubai.

“We are excited about this opportunity and are actively exploring this possibility,” said Joby Aviation spokesman Oliver Walker-Jones.

Ahmed Bahrozyan, an official with the Highways and Transport Authority, told Dubai Eye public radio on Monday that the project was in its “early stages” and that they had not signed a contract with any partners yet.

New to previous announcements were details about the show. The city plans to open four “vertiports” at Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest for international travel – Downtown Dubai, the man-made Palm Jumeirah archipelago and the city’s marina. These points would include two launch pads and four charging stations for the flying taxis.

“We believe these are attractive areas with business and tourism hubs that could generate considerable demand,” said Bahrozyan,

The price range for the rides “will be in the range of a Dubai limo service, maybe slightly higher,” Bahrozyan added.

Unlike previous plans, the current program would initially have pilot taxis, rather than self-driving taxis.

New York Stock Exchange-listed Joby Avation Inc. has Intel Corp. among its major shareholders, and is also owned by Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines.

The video shared on Sheikh Mohammed’s Twitter account showed the logo of London-based company Skyports Infrastructure, which also refers to its aircraft support projects as “vertiports”. The company is already testing its prototype installation outside Paris and working with Joby. Skyports did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Opening the skies to flying taxis would add to the “Blade Runner” effect of Dubai’s landscape, while speeding up the daily hassle of traffic which is only getting worse as its population reaches more than 3.5 million people.