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Deboard plane, get on flying taxis? DXB passengers to reach hotels, malls in minutes
Work on DXV, the first vertiport in the UAE which is under construction near DXB, is on schedule to meet its deadline to be operational by first quarter of 2026
- PUBLISHED: Tue 28 Oct 2025, 1:52 PM UPDATED: Tue 28 Oct 2025, 4:53 PM
With the expected delivery of Dubai International Vertiport (DXV) to be used by flying taxis by first quarter of next year, a top official from Joby Aviation is looking into the opportunity of tapping into existing helipads in hotels, hospitals, malls and other buildings to offer passengers smooth travel from the airport to their destination.
“This means a traveller from Dubai International Airport (DXB) can go to Madinat Jumeirah or nearby Burj Al Arab in just eight minutes on a flying taxi (instead of the usual 45-minute day-time travel by car),” Anthony El-Khoury UAE General Manager Joby Aviation told Khaleej Times on Tuesday on sidelines of the 20th Future Hospitality Summit in Dubai.
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Work on DXV, the first vertiport in the UAE which is under construction near DXB, is on schedule to meet its deadline to be operational by first quarter of 2026, El-Khoury confirmed.
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Vertiports are designated areas for takeoff, landing, and servicing of flying taxis or eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles. Aside from DXV, there are three other sites being developed by Skyports in collaboration with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Joby Aviation for the air taxi infrastructure network.
Building vertiports, however, requires big capital investment. El-Khoury said a viable option is to tap in to existing helipads and hotels, hospitals and malls to allow flying taxis to land at and take off from these destinations.
El-Khoury said possibly more than 30 helipads across Dubai can be jointly used by helicopters and eVTOLs (flying taxis).
Dual use
Back in July this year, the UAE's regulatory body, General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), issued the regulatory framework to allow flying taxis and conventional helicopters to operate interchangeably on the same infrastructure.
El-Khoury welcomed this development noting flying taxis can cover more areas across Dubai, and even beyond Dubai. “This is really good, because we are trying to mitigate the traffic. People can go from the airport to the hotel, mall or any other destinations. That's what we are looking at now and in the future,” he added.
Last month, Joby Aviation, Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority (RAKTA), and Skyports Infrastructure signed an agreement to launch a passenger air taxi service in Ras Al Khaimah in the first half 2027. This will make travel time between Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah via air taxi reduced to only 15 minutes as compared to more than an hour by land.
El Khoury noted modifying helipads to accommodate flying taxis would require only a few tweaks and key infrastructure upgrades that would not be capital intensive.
Modifications include reinforcing existing infrastructure and adding safety features as well as markings — such as such as eVTOL or ‘VTL’ (vertical take-off/ landing) to indicate it can be used by flying taxis.
Another vital add-on is the installation of charging stations for the electric aircraft. There should also be additional fire safety mechanism as traditional foam-based suppression systems are not effective for flying taxi batteries.
On the plus side, El Khoury, added, flying taxis require little space to maneuver, unlike traditional helicopters. Test flights are being conducted at Joby’s test facility at the Dubai Jetman Helipad in Margham, along the Dubai-Al Ain Road.
Safety standards
El Khoury also assured aircraft safety as each aerial taxi, he said, is built with multiple redundant systems designed to prevent failure. “We have six propellers, each propeller is powered by electrical engine. Each engine is powered by two different inverters. Each inverter by a different electrical circuit, each electrical circuit by a different battery pack. There are so many redundancies (extra or duplicate systems that act as backups),” El Khoury underscored, addind: “Flying taxis are operated by professional pilots who have been certified to operate eVTOLs.”
Meanwhile, Paul Griffiths, DXB CEO, is highly optimistic of the potential of flying taxis as they will “revolutionise the way people travel” between airports and their destination or location. He added flying taxis will mitigate road congestion in Dubai “that we haven't seen since about 2007.”
A certification is still pending from the GCAA for the commercial rollout of flying taxis and El Khoury did not give a specific timeline when people can take a flying taxi but assured it will happen next year.
