Joby and Virgin Atlantic Finalise Deal to Bring Electric Air Taxis to the UK

The arrival of electric air taxis in the United Kingdom has moved another step closer to reality, with Joby Aviation and Virgin Atlantic signing a definitive multi-year agreement to develop and launch commercial electric air taxi services across the UK. Announced at the Farnborough International Airshow on 22 July 2026, the agreement turns a partnership first announced in 2025 into a binding commercial framework and establishes Virgin Atlantic as Joby’s exclusive airline partner for UK air taxi services.

The concept is straightforward for passengers: instead of spending an hour or more travelling through congested roads between an airport and a city centre, travellers could eventually board a quiet, electrically powered aircraft and complete the same journey in minutes.

Virgin Atlantic will integrate Joby’s air taxi service into its existing customer journey, with the service expected to be available through the airline’s website and mobile application. This would allow passengers to book an electric air taxi connection alongside their conventional long-haul flight, creating a potentially seamless journey from a regional community to an international airport.

The initial focus will be on Virgin Atlantic’s London and Manchester operations. Manchester is expected to become an important launch point for connections across northern England, with an anticipated Manchester Airport-Leeds service taking approximately 15 minutes. In London, Joby expects a Heathrow-to-central London journey to take as little as eight minutes. Both journeys can take well over an hour by road, particularly during peak periods.

Joby is targeting routes of up to approximately 100 miles, positioning its aircraft as a short-range complement to conventional aviation rather than a replacement for airlines. The concept is to provide rapid connections between airports, city centres and surrounding communities, potentially allowing passengers to include an air taxi journey within the same booking as a long-haul flight.

The agreement also has an interesting transatlantic connection. Joby and Delta Air Lines announced their multi-city partnership in 2022 to develop air taxi connections between airports and surrounding communities. Delta owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, linking the three companies in a broader strategy aimed at making the first and final legs of air travel faster and more convenient.

Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster described the agreement as an important step towards bringing electric air taxi services to Britain, while Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said the UK represents one of the most exciting markets for the technology.

The partnership provides an opportunity for Virgin Atlantic to extend its customer journey beyond the airport terminal. For Joby, it provides an established airline partner with an existing customer base, major airport relationships and a recognised premium travel brand.

Joby’s aircraft uses six electrically powered tilting propellers. The aircraft can take off and land vertically before transitioning into forward flight, combining the flexibility of a helicopter with the efficiency of a fixed-wing aircraft.

The electric propulsion system is also expected to produce considerably less noise than conventional helicopters, an important factor if air taxis are to operate regularly in populated areas. Joby has designed the aircraft for frequent, back-to-back flights rather than occasional sightseeing operations.

The company has accumulated thousands of test flights and has demonstrated its aircraft in demanding urban environments, including San Francisco and New York City. One recent demonstration involved point-to-point flying between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Manhattan, providing a practical illustration of how the technology could eventually be used to connect major airports with city centres.

As with every new category of aircraft, the technology must first pass aviation’s most important test: certification. Joby will remain responsible for aircraft operations, route management and obtaining the necessary UK regulatory approvals, while Virgin Atlantic will support infrastructure integration and customer acquisition.

Joby’s certification programme is progressing under the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between the US Federal Aviation Administration and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, building on the company’s UK validation application submitted in 2022.

Certification is only one part of the challenge. The aircraft will require suitable vertiports, charging facilities, passenger infrastructure and emergency procedures. These facilities will have to be integrated into existing aviation and urban transport systems, particularly in London where airspace is already heavily used and suitable land is limited.

The company will also need to demonstrate that electric air taxi operations can safely coexist with conventional aircraft, helicopters and the rapidly growing number of unmanned aircraft operating around British cities.

Joby has already started introducing the concept to the British public. Earlier in July, a full-scale model of the aircraft was displayed at Potters Fields Park in London, directly opposite Tower Bridge, allowing visitors to sit inside the aircraft and experience its cabin.

While a static display is obviously a long way from commercial operations, public acceptance will be an important factor in the success of the technology. Electric air taxis promise shorter journey times and lower noise, but passengers will ultimately judge the service on convenience, reliability and price.

The economics will also be crucial. Battery technology, charging times, weather limitations, aircraft utilisation and the cost of building vertiports will all influence the final price of a flight. An eight-minute trip from Heathrow to central London sounds extremely attractive, but the entire passenger journey, including getting to the vertiport and continuing to the final destination, will determine whether the service genuinely saves time.

The Joby partnership could provide a new way of extending Virgin Atlantic's network beyond the airport environment. For Joby, it offers access to an established airline customer base and some of the UK's most important airports.

The companies initially plan to concentrate on London and Manchester before expanding to additional cities and communities across the UK. If certification, infrastructure and commercial challenges can be overcome, electric air taxis could eventually become another layer of Britain's transport network, feeding passengers into major airports and providing rapid links between cities.

The aircraft has already demonstrated that it can fly. The next challenge is proving that it can operate safely, reliably and economically at commercial scale.

For decades, helicopters have offered a way to bypass traffic, but their noise and operating costs have kept them largely within the premium market. Joby hopes to change that equation with an aircraft that is quieter, electrically powered and designed for frequent operations.

If the company can successfully navigate certification and infrastructure challenges, the next time a Virgin Atlantic passenger finds themselves trapped in London traffic, there could be a very modern alternative to leaving earlier:

Take the air taxi.