“We want to be up and running with that capability by 2026 when we host the FIFA World Cup.”
Paul Puopolo
EVP of Innovation
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
.…on exploring a partnership with California-based Overair to offer air taxi services from DFW Airport in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, via Cities Today.
Last fall, both DFW Airport and the city of Arlington announced partnerships with Santa Ana, California-based Overair that could lead to electric vertical take-off and landing air taxi services being offered in North Texas.
Puopolo told Cities Today that leaders at DFW Airport have “identified a location and are developing our strategy” for moving air taxis forward—and upward—in the region.
Paul Puopolo, EVP of Innovation at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
“We’ve signed an MoU with Overair to better understand operator needs because we want to be up and running with that capability by 2026 when we host the FIFA World Cup,” Puopolo told Cities Today. “We believe the certification should start coming along in 2024-25, so there could be flights in early 2026—that’s our goal.”
Puopolo noted that early air taxi models “will accommodate anything from a pilot and a passenger to a pilot and three passengers, but some of the bigger models we’ve seen can carry seven,” which would justify calling the potential offering a “shuttle service.”
“If we can get the airspace worked out [with the FAA], then we think that the cities and communities will be onboard,” he added.
In December, Overair completed assembly of the first full-scale prototype of its Butterfly eVTOL aircraft.
For more on how DFW Airport is pursuing autonomous mobility and other innovations, read the Cities Today story here.
For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.
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