State of eVTOL
Q3 2026
The quarterly proprietary report on demand, certification, and route activity from evtol.travel.
Free to cite with attribution and an active link. As of June 30, 2026.
Executive summary — three things that moved
The headline findings any journalist can quote.
Joby Aviation received the first US eVTOL type certificate from the FAA on June 18, 2026 — the fourth worldwide and the first outside China. Dubai commercial launch preparations entered final vertiport commissioning with a target of late Q4 2026.
FAA issued the first Part 135 air carrier certificate explicitly covering powered-lift operations, clearing the regulatory path for commercial eVTOL flights in the United States. All six eIPP cohort cities now have active demonstration authority.
evtol.travel tracked 19,600+ verified route-interest signups across 64 cities in Q3, a 58% QoQ growth rate. Five cities — Dubai, NYC, LA, Miami, and Singapore — now exceed the 1,000-passenger launch-ready threshold.
Key stats teaser
Snapshot of the metrics covered in the full report. Numbers are frozen as of 6/30/2026 for citation stability — they will not drift after publish.
EHang EH216-S (CAAC, 2023), AutoFlight Prosperity I (CAAC, 2024), Volocopter VoloCity (EASA, pending final), Joby S4 (FAA, June 2026).
Across 64 cities (+13 cities vs Q2). Top corridor: JFK ↔ Manhattan.
Across 27 countries (+4 new). United States (41), United Arab Emirates (12), and Japan (8) lead.
Joby Aviation received the first Part 135 certificate covering powered-lift. Archer's application is in review.
Chart preview — top 10 demand cities (Q3 2026)
Verified route-interest signups across eVTOL.Travel. Full top-20 in the PDF. Live data also available at /demand.
Certification tracker — what moved this quarter
Quarter-over-quarter delta on each major program. Full details in the PDF; live status at /evtol-certification-tracker.
FAA type certificate issued June 18, 2026 — first US eVTOL type cert and fourth worldwide. Part 135 air carrier certificate also granted.
Conformity inspections progressing across all test articles. FAA type cert targeted for Q4 2026. Part 135 application filed.
Cargo-first strategy accelerating under UPS partnership. Expanded eIPP demo routes to include Burlington–Albany corridor.
First full-scale prototype completed maiden flight at Gavião Peixoto, Brazil. 2,900+ global commitments. Rio de Janeiro vertiport site announced.
Full delta on all 8 tracked programs in the downloadable PDF.
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 evtol.travel/press/reports/q3-2026.
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