How Tampa Bay fits into Florida's air taxi future
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Archer Aviation's Midnight eVTOL. Photo: Courtesy of Archer Aviation
How bad is Tampa Bay traffic? Pretty soon, we may be flying around town like George Jetson.
Why it matters: A new federal pilot program will speed up the integration of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft across 26 states, including Florida, with testing expected to begin this summer.
How it works: eVTOL aircraft are a cross between a helicopter and an airplane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Like a helicopter, they can take off and land vertically, and they fly at low speeds. But they are much quieter, more suitable for urban travel.
- Air taxis typically fly between 120 and 200 miles per hour and reach altitudes of between 1,000 and 3,000 feet, per the Florida Department of Transportation.
State of play: The FAA's eVTOL pilot program selected eight projects, including one led by FDOT, to "create one of the largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft in the world."
- The FDOT piece will include phases of operations focused on cargo delivery, passenger transportation, automation and medical response.
Zoom in: In a 2025 memo, FDOT envisioned a system of "highways in the sky with dedicated travel lanes and strategically placed aerial on-ramps and off-ramps located at key destinations."
- The SunTrax campus in Polk County's Auburndale will serve as Florida's headquarters for eVTOL testing.
- State officials are eyeing the Interstate 4 corridor for the first phase of deployment. Planned routes include Orlando to Tampa and Tampa to the SunTrax HQ.
Zoom out: St. Petersburg leaders hope to make the city a hub for the technology, with Albert Whitted Airport set to play a key role.
- The city's Advanced Air Mobility Task Force published a report this month recommending that it build infrastructure like parking areas and charging ports over the next three years.
- Albert Whitted's runways can serve as takeoff and landing locations for the aircraft, with longer-term plans calling for the construction of dedicated infrastructure for those purposes, called vertiports.
What they're saying: "We want to do everything, whether it's education, the certification of pilots and operators of AAM aircraft, and we also would like to get into the manufacturing," task force chair Ed Montanari said, per the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
- "We'd like to do it all, not just in St. Petersburg, but Pinellas County and throughout the whole Tampa Bay region."
Follow the money: eVTOL companies tell Axios they hope their services will someday be priced similarly to premium rideshare options like Uber Black.
- But they warn the services will likely begin at a higher price point due to limited supply.
What's next: eVTOL companies hope the pilot program will speed up their federal approval, but for air taxi service to take flight, vertiports and charging stations must be built.