Joby and Beta Open Florida's Air Taxi Trials: What Happened and Can You Fly Yet?

On Friday, October 30, 2026, two electric aircraft took off from Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg and landed at Tampa International Airport about 20 minutes later. One was a Joby S4 (registration N545JX, a conforming prototype). The other was Beta Technologies' first production-conforming Alia CX300 (N916LF). The flights opened Florida's part of the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), the White House-backed program the US Department of Transportation announced in March 2026.

The route was chosen on purpose. It retraces the January 1, 1914 St. Petersburg to Tampa flight by Tony Jannus, often called the world's first scheduled airline flight.

What flew, and where

Joby says the Orlando vertiport procedures were developed over two years of simulation with the FAA, NASA, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and local air traffic controllers. Beta says its CX300s have already completed 14 eIPP flights covering nearly 700 nautical miles around Tampa and Orlando.

Can you book a flight?

No, not yet. These are demonstration and data-gathering flights. Joby's announcement does not mention tickets, and no eVTOL in Florida (or anywhere in the US) holds FAA type certification today. Joby describes itself as being in the final stages of certification. Beta's CEO Kyle Clark told AIN that Beta's commercial (Part 135) flights in Florida could follow "probably late this year, early next year", but those would use the CX300, a conventional takeoff and landing electric airplane, not a vertical-lift air taxi.

If you want to fly in an eVTOL today, the only places selling public rides are in China. See our eVTOL experiences page for what is actually open.

Why Florida matters

Florida is moving faster than most states on the ground side:

• Money for vertiports. A state law that took effect July 1, 2026 lets the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) pay up to 100% of vertiport costs when no federal money is involved.
• A route plan. FDOT's Aerial Highway Network plan makes the Tampa to Orlando I-4 corridor the first phase, then links Orlando to the Space Coast and the SunTrax test campus in Auburndale.
• Big demand forecasts. The state plan projects between 220,000 and 1.4 million eVTOL passenger trips in a 2027 opening year. Treat that range as a planning estimate, not a promise.
• More players. Archer, Beta, Electra and Joby are all named partners in Florida's eIPP project. Electra and FDOT plan Central Florida flight tests in November.

What to watch next

1. Orlando and Kennedy Space Center flights in the first week of November.
2. Joby's Q3 results on November 4, which may update its certification and launch timing.
3. Beta's first paid cargo or medical flights in Florida, which would be the first commercial electric aircraft operations in the state.
4. Archer's Midnight joining the Florida program.

The bottom line

Florida now has real electric aircraft landing at its biggest airports, and a law that pays for vertiports. What it does not have yet is a certified air taxi you can buy a seat on. Our Florida air taxi guide and US air taxi map will be updated as that changes.

Sources: Joby Aviation press release, Oct 30, 2026 · AIN, Oct 30, 2026 · FLYING Magazine · AIN, Nov 3, 2026