FAA ISSUES NEW RULES TO EXPAND COMMERCIAL AIR TAXI OPERATIONS
December 9, 2022
On November 21, 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) announced its plans to propose a new series of rules to amend its regulations governing Part 121, Part 135 and Part 91 commercial operations to help advance commercial air taxi operations by 2025. One such amendment is a proposal to update its air carrier definition to add “powered-lift” operations to the regulations that cover other commercial operations like airlines, charters, and air tours. This is intended to allow operators to use powered-lift aircraft such as battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically for operations such as the ferry of travelers to airports or on short trips between cities to beat traffic. FAA also noted that it is planning to propose a powered-lift operations rule for certifying pilots and operating requirements to fly electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (“eVTOLs”) and is developing a framework for the certification of eVTOL pilots and the creation of powered-lift/eVTOL related operations specifications.
This comes shortly after FAA issued new airworthiness criteria earlier in the month for the certification of air-taxi startup, Joby Aviation and its Model JAS4-1 eVTOL. Joby stated that it hopes to begin commercial eVTOL passenger air taxi services in 2025 through a partnership with Delta Air Lines that would offer commercial passenger air taxi services between airports in New York and Los Angeles, assuming it can obtain the required FAA approvals.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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