A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

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Curt Epstein

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), the fourth largest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed an agreement with Joby Aviation and Skyports Infrastructure that will launch advanced air mobility taxi services there by 2027. Its first vertiport is scheduled to be constructed at the centrally located Al Marjan Island, which will be home to a resort set to open in 2027.
Service is expected to start with an inter-emirate route linking RAK and Dubai. The trip from Dubai International Airport to Al Marjan Island takes more than an hour by car. With <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-08-07/joby-begins-assembly-confirming-electric-aircraft">Joby’s</a> all-electric air taxi—which is anticipated to carry its first passengers in Dubai next year—the trip would be less than 15 minutes.
In step with RAK’s 2030 mobility master plan, the new service will meet the growing demand for fast and convenient transport in the emirate and throughout the entire UAE.
“This partnership reflects [RAK’s] strategic vision to shape the future of mobility by integrating advanced transport solutions within its urban and tourism ecosystem,” said Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority director general Esmaeel Hasan Alblooshi. “This step is an extension of [RAK’s] comprehensive mobility plan of 2030, which focuses on innovation, sustainability, and the integration of transport modes.”
Alblooshi added that the launch of air taxi services is an addition that provides “fast, efficient, and eco-friendly mobility options.”

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