The first four vertiports have also been revealed…

If the Dubai traffic has been getting you down, here’s some news to look forward to: flying taxis will officially take off in Dubai in the first quarter of 2026.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirmed that its first fully electric air taxis will begin operation in just over 18 months, initially operating across four vertiports.

Powered by Joby Aviation, Dubai’s futuristic new mode of transport is designed to service key areas of the city, while also linking travellers with the airport. As such, the first flying taxis will operate from Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Downtown. The location of the vertiports within these areas, wasn’t given.

Each flying taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers, and will travel at up to 320km/h. That means it could cut your travel time between DXB and Palm Jumeirah from 45 minutes by car to just 10 to 12 minutes, according to Tyler Trerotola, Joby Aviation’s Middle East general manager.

The news was announced by Khaled Al Awadhi, Director of the Transportation Systems Department at Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in statements on the sidelines of the World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS World Congress) in Dubai. It first appeared in state news agency, wam.

 

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How will bookings work?

Joby previously confirmed they had teamed up with Uber, so when the air taxi service launches, you will be able to book your trip in the same way as a taxi via the app. You will also be able to book via the official RTA app, and Joby will also working on creating their own Joby app which will launch soon.

Once your booking is done, you will turn up at the vertiport, go through a terminal before boarding your aircraft. This boarding process will be around five minutes. Once at the destination and deboarded, Joby will be able to connect you to an Uber so you can reach your final destination in a seamless journey.

How much will flying taxis cost?

Well, it’s not going to cost as much as you think, and Joby’s target is to bring the costs to around the same price as an Uber Black per trip. When it is launched, it may be slightly more, but in order to be competitive with regular land taxis, the prices will slowly reduce.

Image: supplied