Joby Outperforms: 120 Air Taxi Operations Per Hour in Busy Airspace

At NASA's Future Flight Central virtual tower facility, Joby and NASA completed a series of airspace simulations with a team of participating air traffic controllers evaluating how air taxi operations can be integrated into today's airspace. Joby Aviation Image (Photo: Business Wire)

Joby Aviation has announced the successful completion of a series of air traffic simulations conducted in collaboration with NASA's Ames Research Center. These simulations aimed to assess the integration of air taxi operations into existing airspace, including busy airports, using current air traffic control (ATC) tools and procedures.

The tests, developed jointly by Joby and NASA, simulated scenarios with numerous electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft operating in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) region. The simulations involved up to 120 eVTOL operations per hour at DFW's Central Terminal Area, alongside existing air traffic, and included 45 simultaneous eVTOL aircraft in DFW's Class B airspace. This successful collaboration showcases the potential for air taxi operations within the current airspace system. NASA plans to release a comprehensive analysis of the simulation results next year for the industry and the FAA to review.