California-based Joby Aviation carried out a week-long air-taxi campaign this month where its eVTOL aircraft flew real-world routes across north Texas, including direct flights into Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and major urban hubs.

The campaign builds on electric air taxi demonstrations earlier this year, including flights in San Francisco and New York, and shows the aircraft’s ability to integrate into busy airspace. Conducted under the Texas Department of Transport (DoT) Project Nexus (www.txdot.gov/business/aviation/advanced-air-mobility.html), the flights brought together federal, state and local governments with private industry to accelerate the safe integration of electric air taxis into US airspace.

Throughout the week, Joby flew missions between Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, key urban locations and DFW Airport, one of the world’s busiest and most connected airports. These flights are expected to generate the real-world operational data the FAA needs to build safety rules for commercial service at scale.

The effort builds on years of airspace research with the FAA and Nasa, which began studying electric air taxi integration in north Texas in 2018. A 2023 high-fidelity simulation by Joby and Nasa at the Future Flight Central facility at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California examined the feasibility of operating up to 50 electric air taxi operations per hour at the DFW terminal area. To support this campaign and long-term growth in the region, Joby recently leased a facility at Perot Field within the Alliance Texas Mobility Innovation Zone.

The typical Dallas-Fort Worth driver loses around 44 hours a year to traffic congestion, according to independent transportation research. Joby’s long-term vision is to give communities that time back, offering a commercial air taxi service that could one day turn long, frustrating highway drives into quick, emission-free flights.

Texas offers a distinct opportunity for this next era of aviation: a fast-growing population, expanding infrastructure and a framework for government and industry to work together early.

“I’m incredibly excited by the potential for vertical lift in Texas, a state with the infrastructure, expertise and partnerships to help lead the next era of American aviation,” said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby. “This is just the beginning of what Texas and Joby can build together.”

FAA administrator Bryan Bedford added: “Advanced air mobility vehicles are the future of aviation and these demonstrations in Texas are critical to getting us there. The FAA is leveraging data from test flights in Texas and across the country to ensure these new aircraft integrate safely into the airspace.”

The Texas campaign is part of Joby’s 2026 Electric Skies Tour. Also announced this month and featured on the tour is the J208, a Cessna 208B caravan with Joby’s autonomous flight technology installed that is currently completing coast-to-coast flight demonstrations that began in Concord, California, on 8 September. The aircraft is part of Joby Autonomy, a programme working to apply the company’s self-flying systems to commercial and defence applications.

As Joby advances through the fifth and final stage of FAA type certification, supported by ongoing testing of its conforming aircraft for type inspection authorisation (TIA), the flights demonstrate the operational maturity, acoustic performance and airspace integration required to launch a commercial air taxi service at scale.

Joby Aviation (www.jobyaviation.com) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. Joby intends to operate the air taxi service in cities around the world and sell its aircraft to other operators and partners.