State of eVTOL — Q3 2026 Report: Joby Earns First US Type Certificate, 19,600+ Demand Signups, 123 Vertiports
Laxman Kafle
In this article (5)▼
The second quarterly State of eVTOL report is live. This quarter was the most consequential in eVTOL history — Joby Aviation received the first US eVTOL type certificate from the FAA, clearing the path for commercial passenger service in the United States.
The full report is a free PDF download (no email required, no gate, no upsell):
Download the State of eVTOL — Q3 2026 PDF →
Or read the summary online with chart previews and the citation block.
The three headline findings
1. Joby received the first US eVTOL type certificate. The FAA issued Joby Aviation's type certificate for the S4 on June 18, 2026 — the fourth worldwide and the first outside China. Joby also received the first Part 135 air carrier certificate explicitly covering powered-lift operations. Read the full delta in the certification tracker.
2. FAA cleared the regulatory path for commercial eVTOL flights. With a type certificate and Part 135 air carrier certificate both in hand, Joby is the first operator in the United States with full regulatory clearance for commercial eVTOL passenger service. All six eIPP cohort cities now have active demonstration authority.
3. Verified route-interest signups grew 58% QoQ to 19,600+ across 64 cities. Five cities — Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Singapore — now exceed the 1,000-passenger launch-ready threshold. Asia Pacific continued its demand acceleration, with Seoul showing 56% MoM growth.
What's in the full report
- Executive summary — the three findings above, expanded with sourcing.
- Demand snapshot — top 20 cities by route-interest signups, regional breakdown, MoM growth.
- Certification tracker delta — quarter-over-quarter movement on Joby, Archer, BETA, Eve, EHang, AutoFlight, Volocopter, and Vertical.
- Vertiport build-out — 123 sites tracked across 27 countries, 25 net new this quarter. Dubai commissioned its first two commercial vertiports.
- Operator activity log — eight verified events from the quarter, including the Joby type cert and Eve's maiden full-scale flight.
- What we're watching next quarter — five forward-looking items, including the Dubai commercial launch, Archer's type cert timeline, and the first US commercial ticket sale.
- Methodology + data sources — every number is reproducible from the snapshot JSON committed to the repo.
How to cite this report
Every number in the PDF is frozen as of June 30, 2026 so citations stay stable.
Cite as: evtol.travel, State of eVTOL Q3 2026, July 2026, https://evtol.travel/press/reports/q3-2026.
When citing in print or broadcast, please credit eVTOL.Travel. When citing online, please link to the report URL above.
What's next
The Q4 2026 report drops in October 2026. To get an embargo copy 48 hours before publish — or to be added to our press list for future reports — email laxman@evtol.travel.
For interview requests, on-record commentary, and fact-checks, the eVTOL.Travel Newsroom is the front door.
Key statistics from the report
- 4 active eVTOL type certificates worldwide — Joby S4 (FAA, June 2026), EHang EH216-S (CAAC, 2023), AutoFlight Prosperity I (CAAC, 2024), plus Volocopter VoloCity (EASA, pending).
- 19,600+ verified route-interest signups across 64 cities in Q3 2026, up 58% QoQ.
- 1 US Part 135 powered-lift air carrier certificate issued (Joby Aviation) — the first ever.
- 123 vertiports tracked across 27 countries; +25 net new this quarter.
- 8 major eVTOL programs tracked across FAA, EASA, CAAC, and ANAC.
As of June 30, 2026.
Sources: live data from api/press/stats, api/demand/public, api/vertiports, the evtol.travel certification tracker, and public regulator filings (FAA, EASA, CAAC, ANAC). Editorial interpretation by eVTOL.Travel.
Sources: Information sourced from official company announcements, FAA publications, SEC filings, and verified industry reports. For corrections, contact us.
Written by
Laxman Kafle
Founder of eVTOL.Travel — building the independent global directory and verified pre-reservation platform for the urban air mobility era. Tracking every operator, vertiport, and city launch toward 2026.
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