Orlando International Airport (KMCO) this week inaugurated what the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) described as a first-of-its-kind site for evaluating electric air taxis.
GOAA, which operates Orlando International, said Thursday that the airport hosted demonstrations of Joby Aviation’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft prototype. The flights took place at what GOAA described as a newly constructed “vertipad,” the precursor to a future hub for commercial eVTOL operations. It aims to begin operations there by 2030, though it had previously targeted 2028.
The demonstration was hosted by FDOT and according to GOAA used routes and procedures jointly developed with the FAA and NASA. It included participation from Orlando air traffic controllers. According to FlightAware, Joby’s eVTOL prototype conducted three short hops at the vertistop, each lasting two minutes or less.
“By bringing together government, industry, and air traffic partners at MCO, we are helping turn an emerging transportation concept into a safe, practical reality that can strengthen connectivity, create new opportunities, and shape how people move across Florida and beyond,” said Lance Lyttle, CEO of GOAA, in a news release.
From Vertipad to Vertiport
GOAA said the vertipad, located at Orlando International’s Surface Lot Atlantis near the train station adjacent to Terminal C, is the first to be built onsite at a major U.S. airport.
It described the site as a “small takeoff and landing area” that according to its KMCO’s website will validate the readiness of electric VTOL, conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), and short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, as well as their integration into the airspace.
In the future, GOAA plans to build a larger vertiport, which is similar to a heliport but designed specifically for eVTOL operations. The FAA in October released draft design standards to guide airport and heliport owners, operators, and infrastructure developers on their design of that infrastructure. They include standards for essential facility elements and their safe integration at airports, requirements for electric charging systems, and guidance for lighting, markings, and visual aids.
The FAA plans to publish final vertiport design standards in summer 2027 after obtaining public feedback.
GOAA approved the development of the smaller vertistop in July. It will be used for demonstrations in partnership with the FAA, NASA, FDOT, and local ATC, as well as the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).
The airport authority also seeks to validate eVTOL approach and departure procedures through airspace simulation assessments. Per its website, the new entrants “must not introduce risks to the safety or operations” of existing commercial traffic.
The FAA is evaluating ATC needs for separating eVTOL aircraft within Orlando International’s Class B airspace. That will be a critical task given the agency’s recent reassessments of mixed fixed-wing and helicopter traffic following the midair collision between a military helicopter and commercial jet in Washington, D.C. in early 2025.
The FAA in a February report said simulations of eVTOL flights alongside regular traffic at KMCO examined possible vertiport locations and AAM routes. They also provided insights into future ATC procedures and potential safety concerns.
GOAA has not yet determined where the commercial vertiport will be built. But it has said that eVTOL aircraft flying there will be equipped with tracking technology.
Orlando International’s Plans
The airport is still in the early stages of studying eVTOL aircraft.
Earlier this year, it hosted demonstrations of Beta Technologies’ CX300, an electric CTOL prototype. Now, it is starting to evaluate the infrastructure intended to support commercial operations of Joby, Beta, and other novel aircraft.
Simultaneously, FDOT is leading one of eight projects under the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). The project kicked off earlier this week, when Joby and Beta’s prototypes flew from St. Petersburg to Tampa International Airport (KTPA), tracing the path of the world’s first scheduled commercial airline flight in 1914. GOAA said Thursday that FDOT plans more flights across the state.
The airport authority aims to integrate electric aircraft within operations at Orlando International as well as Orlando Executive Airport (KORL) to support FDOT’s planned aerial highway network. The network would include passenger, cargo, emergency, and other services. The earliest operations would be along Florida’s Interstate 4, but they would later expand statewide from Pensacola to Key West.
Per its website, GOAA believes the aircraft have the “potential to reduce carbon emissions, reduce noise impacts, create new jobs, provide air service to underserved communities, and create opportunities for new and diversified revenue streams for airports.”
This week’s demonstration represents one of the early steps toward determining whether that will be the case.
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