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Aircraft & certification · 5 min read

eVTOL certification in 2026: who is closest to carrying passengers

Type certificates, operating rules and pilot programmes are converging—slowly. Where Joby, Archer, Vertical, EHang and the rest actually stand.

Aircraft & certificationMarket trends

VERTISTATION.TOKYO Editorial

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eVTOL certification in 2026: who is closest to carrying passengers
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The certificates that matter

Type certification is the core permission for commercial passenger flight, and each manufacturer reports progress differently—Joby describes five stages and Archer four phases, so stage numbers alone do not establish who is closer. Joby began flying its first FAA-conforming aircraft for Type Inspection Authorization testing in March 2026, with FAA pilots expected to conduct “for credit” testing later in the year, and its August 2026 update reported progress in the fifth and final stage. Archer reported full FAA acceptance of Midnight’s means of compliance in March 2026, closing of the third of four phases by May 2026, and completed piloted city-to-city Midnight flights in August 2026—all preparation for operations, not a certificate.

Europe and the UK

Vertical Aerospace received a UK CAA Permit to Fly in November 2025 and began piloted transition testing, completed two-way transition flight in April 2026, then revised its certification target to 2029 in July 2026. Volocopter stated in January 2026 that it targeted EASA certification for VoloCity in 2027 and light-sport certification for VoloXPro by the end of 2026—targets, not approvals. Eve announced in July 2026 that Brazil’s ANAC opened consultation on Eve 100 airworthiness criteria and that it had applied to EASA to initiate type-certificate validation; an application is not completed validation.

China runs ahead on operating permission

EHang announced in March 2025 that two of its EH216-S operators had obtained air operator certificates from China’s civil aviation authority, enabling paid human-carrying flights at approved sites in Guangzhou and Hefei, on top of the aircraft’s existing type, production and airworthiness certificates. EHang’s own explanation distinguishes the approved “human-carrying” category from full “passenger transportation”, and describes sightseeing and other approved commercial uses. These are approvals under a different regulatory system; they do not transfer to FAA or EASA jurisdictions.

Operating programmes are not certificates

The FAA selected eight proposals for its eIPP integration pilot programme in March 2026, and subsequent reporting suggested the agency opened the possibility of commercial passenger and cargo operations under that programme before full type certification—an early-operations pathway, not proof that any aircraft is fully certificated. Schedules also differ within one company’s fleet: Beta Technologies’ runway-operated CX300 targets 2027 while its A250 eVTOL targets 2028, so fixed-wing progress should not be counted as eVTOL progress. For hotels and property owners, certification timing is the binding constraint on every service date discussed on this site.

Sources & further reading

  1. Joby's first FAA-conforming aircraft takes flightJoby Aviation · 2026-03-11
  2. Joby reports second quarter 2026 financial resultsJoby Aviation · 2026-08-05
  3. Archer Q4 2025 results: US and UAE air taxi pilot programs on-track for 2026Archer Aviation (SEC filing) · 2026-03-02
  4. Archer Q1 2026 shareholder letterArcher Aviation (SEC filing) · 2026-05-11
  5. Vertical Aerospace receives Permit to Fly approval allowing piloted transition testing to proceedVertical Aerospace · 2025-11-13
  6. Vertical Aerospace delays Valo eVTOL certification to 2029Aerospace Testing International · 2026-07-14
  7. Volocopter has completed optimizing its supply chainVolocopter · 2026-01-30
  8. EHang's EH216-S eVTOL operators obtain air operator certificatesEHang · 2025-03-30
  9. Eve advances global certification path for Eve 100Eve Air Mobility · 2026-07-20
  10. The eIPP: what you need to knowFAA · 2026-03-09

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