The prospect of electric “air taxis” buzzing around Texas skies just got a boost from the Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and the FAA announced that eight proposals—including one in Texas—have been selected as part of the brand-new Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).

eVTOLs—short for electric vertical takeoff and landing—are futuristic aircraft with the potential to generate new jobs, connect communities, and strengthen American leadership in aviation, the FAA said.

Four industry partners have aligned with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to make eVTOL air taxi flights a reality in Texas. Archer Aviation, BETA, Joby Aviation, and Wisk aim to support regional air taxi flights connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and eventually Houston, with networks expanding from each city to extend regional reach.

The first-of-its-kind FAA program—outlined in President Trump’s Unleashing Drone Dominance Executive Order—aims to accelerate the safe integration of next-generation advanced air mobility aircraft into the national airspace and ensure the U.S. “leads the way in aviation innovation.” 

The pilot projects in Texas and 25 other states “will create one of the largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft in the world,” the FAA. Data from the projects will be used by the FAA to develop new regulations that safely enable the futuristic technology at scale.

‘The future of aviation is here’

The U.S. DOT unveiled the selections with a minute-long video that opens with “The Jetsons” cartoon family buzzing around the sky in a flying car, calling what’s coming to Texas “Ubers in the air.”

“These eVTOLS are going to take people from one airport to the next and beyond that,” Duffy says in the video. “We have a president, we have a DOT that want to see those innovators innovate in America and then export them around the world.”

“eVTOLS are going to make the airspace far more interesting and far more fun, and we have to be prepared for that and seamlessly implement their involvement in using the [National Airspace System],” he adds. “This is a time when we don’t know how the world is going to change, but it’s going to change in the way people and products move, which is exciting.”

Working together with the winning proposals, Duffy said the DOT and FAA will “ensure America leads the way in safely leveraging next-gen aircraft to radically redefine personal travel, regional transportation, cargo logistics, emergency medicine, and so much more.”

Duffy wraps up the video by saying “Let’s win the future.”

TxDOT: Pilot program ‘puts Texas squarely in the center of the next generation of aviation’

“The future of aviation is taking flight,” TxDOT Emerging Aviation Tech Director Sergio Roman said in a statement about TxDOT’s selection by the pilot program. “This is a first-of-its-kind effort to safely integrate electric aircraft into U.S. airspace and puts Texas squarely in the center of the next generation of aviation as we work to improve safety and connectivity across the state.”

TxDOT said the Texas pilot will launch in phases “over the next three years.” The first phase will include testing without passengers and with traditional aircraft like helicopters and fixed-in wing planes. This will help perform tests and validate the appropriate routes, the agency said. 

The next phases will involve testing for medical and cargo logistics, including the transporation of critical medical supplies or organs between rural facilities and urban medical centers in Austin and San Antonio. 

The final phases will involve passengers air taxi flights across the Texas triangle.

TxDOT said the goal of the regional network connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston is to create a multi-state “System of Systems.” Rather than isolated tests in a single city, TxDOT said it’s building the infrastructure to handle the transition between urban, rural, and state airspace.

‘Taking flight in Texas!’

Tan Parker, state senator for Texas’ 12th Senate District, which includes parts of North Texas, noted in a LinkedIn post that In 2023, he led passage of legislation “establishing Texas’ Advanced Air Mobility framework, preparing our state for innovations like air taxis and next-generation aviation systems.”

“That leadership under SB2144 helped secure Texas’ selection by the U.S. Department of Transportation for the new Air Mobility Pilot Programs, a first-of-its-kind national initiative,” Parker said. “Working with TxDOT and industry leaders, Texas is advancing the next phase of safe air taxi flights connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.”

“Innovation, investment, and the future of American aviation—taking flight in Texas!” Parked added.

Other projects in the program

Other projects selected under the FAA’s eIPP program include regional passenger transportation including short takeoff and landing aircraft; cargo and logistics networks; emergency medical response operations; autonomous flight technologies; and offshore and energy-sector transportation.

FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau said the projects in Texas and other U.S. states “will help us better understand how to safely and efficiently integrate these aircraft into the National Airspace System.”

“The program will provide valuable operational experience that will inform the standards needed to enable safe Advanced Air Mobility operations,” Rocheleau added. 

Pilot in Texas includes Archer’s Midnight air taxi

Archer’s Midnight air taxi [Photo: Archer Aviation]

San Jose, California-based Archer Aviation, one of the companies taking part in the Texas pilot as well as pilots in other states,  said it will now work directly with partners in Texas, Florida, and New York to begin laying the groundwork for early operations of its Midnight air taxis in those states as soon as the second half of 2026.”

“This is the clearest sign yet from the White House, the FAA and the DOT that bringing air taxis to market in the United States is a real priority,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, said in a statement. “We appreciate Secretary Duffy and Administrator Bedford’s leadership and are excited to bring Midnight to the skies of some of America’s largest cities.”

Midnight is Archer’s piloted electric air taxi, which is designed to carry up to four passengers while producing less noise and emissions than a traditional helicopter. Midnight is built with redundant systems across the aircraft—including 12 total engines and propellers—allowing Archer “to target similar levels of safety as commercial airliners,” the company said.

Archer added that much like robotaxi pilot programs across the U.S., this program allows it to work with federal regulators, states, and communities to both build trust and establish the playbook for safely scaling electric air taxis across the country.

Archer said its goal is to enable passengers to replace 60- to 90-minute trips on the ground with quiet, all electric flights using Midnight, “dramatically reducing travel times compared to traditional ground transportation and helping avoid growing levels of congestion.”

The public will start to see operations begin under this FAA program by this summer, the DOT said. 

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