FutureFlight
Dubai Gives Joby Exclusive Rights to Local eVTOL Air Taxi Market
Plans announced with the emirate's Road and Transport Authority call for commercial flights to start no later than early 2026.
Joby plans to start eVTOL air taxi service in Dubai
Dubai's Road and Transport Authority has given Joby Aviation exclusive access to the local market for eVTOL air taxi services. (Image: Joby)

Dubai’s government in the UAE has granted Joby Aviation exclusive access to the local market for eVTOL air taxi services in a move that excludes other manufacturers and operators for six years. Under an agreement signed with the emirate’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA), operations are expected to begin no later than early 2026, but possibly from 2025, when Joby also intends to start services in U.S. markets with its four-passenger, piloted aircraft.

The RTA has agreed to provide support including unspecified “financial mechanisms for entry and maturing of service operations in Dubai. The agreement was signed during the World Governments Summit in Dubai and was witnessed by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the UAE’s vice president and prime minister, and also Dubai’s ruler.