Dubai: The future is here! Flying taxis are expected to take to the skies in Dubai as soon as next year, and we can’t wait to check it out.

In February 2023, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai confirmed models of aerial taxi stations developed by the RTA. The Dubai rules stated that aerial taxis will take to the skies by 2026, but if everything goes well and all the approvals have been received, it could be as early as next year, 2025.

The aircraft weighs approximately around the weight of a Tesla, and will high-speed charge the same way.

When the aircraft lands, it will begin charging as passengers de-plane. Joby tells us that the entire charge of the battery is not used 100 per cent during each trip due to the short distances (approximately seven minutes). For longer journeys – city to city (such as Dubai to Abu Dhabi where the trip is 30 minutes), the whole charge is most likely to be used which means the aircraft will be charged a little longer on the grounds than usual, but it doesn’t cause an inconvenience.

Each aircraft is equipped with four seats with the fifth seating the (fully qualified) commercial pilot in the front.

In an interview with Joby, we are told the electric aircraft are ‘super quiet, maybe even around a hundred times quieter than a helicopter’. This means that the aircraft can access communities at any time of the day without causing a disturbance.