Electric air taxis take off for testing in Dallas-Fort Worth

State of takeoff: The FAA and NASA started studying electric air taxi integration in North Texas in 2018, per a news release. The Texas Department of Transportation is also studying advanced air mobility.

• Joby believes it can operate up to 50 electric air taxi operations per hour in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
• The company's electric aircraft flew test missions this week from Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport to stops such as DFW Airport and Toyota's North American headquarters in Plano.

How it works: The all-electric air taxis take off and land vertically.

• The flights through Arlington are intended to show the aircraft can operate at low noise levels over major infrastructure such as the Fort Worth Stockyards.
• On Monday, an air taxi flew from Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) to Toyota's campus in Plano and then returned to AFW.

What they're saying: Joby says it decided to test in Texas because the state has a growing population, expanding infrastructure and strong relationships between governments and industries.

• "The FAA is leveraging data from test flights in Texas and across the country to ensure these new aircraft integrate safely into the airspace," FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.