For New Yorkers, the days of traffic congestion may soon be over as the city has been chosen as a testing ground for futuristic air taxis.
This initiative will enable travelers in the Big Apple to commute by air from locations like Manhattan to nearby airports, at a cost comparable to a high-end car service. The announcement came after the Trump administration designated New York and several other cities for these air taxi trials.
In collaboration with several aerospace firms, the Port Authority is set to conduct a three-year trial. This will involve helicopter-like air vehicles shuttling passengers from short runways and heliports to major airports such as JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark in a matter of five to fifteen minutes.
According to Archer, a San Jose-based company involved in the pilot, passengers will have the option to purchase airline tickets with an added air taxi journey from a Manhattan skyport. The anticipated cost for this service ranges from $110 to $165.
Electra, another participant in the pilot, has introduced compact electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing in about 150 feet. This feature enables them to operate from unconventional sites like fields or parking lots, rather than large airports.
Archer has already proposed a network connecting skyports in lower Manhattan and Midtown to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. Their small electric aircraft will transport a limited number of passengers at a time between these locations.
Archer’s map, developed with United Airlines, also includes potential future connections to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Westchester County Airport and Long Island’s Republic Airport.
President Trump instructed all federal agencies to prioritize US-made aircraft “to the maximum extent permitted by law,” in his order.
“It’s American innovation at its best,” Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, said. “This Administration is opening the door for an American company to demonstrate how hybrid-electric propulsion works at scale, to reimagine how we use the skies, and to change the way that people get to where they want to go.
Aerospace companies BETA and Joby were also selected to test in the New York and New Jersey area for the pilot.
Port Authority declined to comment to The Post about the program.
Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and New Mexico will also test short electric flights, including some autonomous cargo flights in New Mexico under the program, called the federal Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program.
The rollout is likely to trigger debates over noise and safety in communities near heliports and proposed vertiports.
Noise complaints logged through the FAA’s national portal jumped by about 150% between 2023 and 2024, according to the FAA’s report on aviation noise concerns published last year.
President Donald Trump’s executive order put the FAA on an unusually fast track to establish rules for a brand new class of aircraft. The agency was alloted a little over a year to design the program, select partners and get them flying — far faster than the FAA’s own “optimal rulemaking timeline” of 36 months.
Federal officials said the pilot will test whether the technology is safe, adheres to noise standards and whether the hopper flights meaningfully improve regional mobility.
