Israeli smart aircraft maker AIR has announced a partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDoT) to establish its US headquarters and an eVTOL production and flight operations hub at SunTrax.

SunTrax is Florida’s air and ground transportation research and development facility near Orlando. This partnership will make AIR the first advanced air mobility (AAM) company to manufacture and operate eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft in Florida.

AIR has established operations at the facility in an approximately 1900-square-metre space at the 775-acre SunTrax campus and will expand its presence as operations grow. The company has been conducting flight operations in Florida since August 2025 near West Palm Beach and plans to begin manufacturing its AIR One personal eVTOL aircraft and its autonomous heavy-lift cargo aircraft in the USA by the end of the year.

As part of this expansion, AIR will relocate the flight test programmes for both aircraft to SunTrax, where testing and demonstration flights will continue as the programmes advance towards production.

“Advanced air mobility is entering a new phase in the USA, moving from aircraft development towards production and real-world operations,” said Rani Plaut, CEO of AIR. “Establishing AIR’s US headquarters at SunTrax gives us the infrastructure and support needed to manufacture and operate our aircraft in America, while contributing to a strong domestic AAM industry. Florida simply makes sense for AIR. We already have more than 300 customers in the state, along with a growing network of partners, suppliers and supporters. Florida is home to one of the world’s strongest aviation ecosystems, and its leadership has been incredibly proactive in advancing the infrastructure, policies and resources needed to support advanced air mobility. Establishing our operations here is a natural next step that will accelerate our growth and help shape AIR’s next chapter.”

Owned and operated by FDoT, SunTrax Air (suntraxfl.com) is Florida’s dedicated headquarters for AAM research, development and commercialisation. The purpose-built campus features dedicated airspace, the nation’s first AAM aerial test track, vertiports, high-speed aircraft charging stations and maintenance hangars that will support AIR’s aircraft production, testing and flight operations.

“AIR’s decision to establish operations at SunTrax represents an important step towards the launch of flying cars in Florida as we bring highways to the sky,” said Jared Perdue, FDoT secretary. “This partnership brings aircraft production, testing and jobs to the state, and will help continue the development of this new mode of transportation.”

AIR (www.airev.aero) intends to hire locally and contribute to Florida’s growing manufacturing economy. As its production and flight operations expand, FDoT (www.fdot.gov) will work with AIR to support its longer-term manufacturing needs and continued growth within the state.

The partnership brings AIR’s aircraft programmes and production experience to Florida’s purpose-built AAM infrastructure, supporting the state’s national role in advanced air mobility development, manufacturing and commercial operations.