Joby Aviation, Inc, a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently announced plans for the rapid deployment of Joby’s electric air taxi in the Kingdom. A new memorandum of understanding between GACA and Joby will use Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification standards as a foundation to create a streamlined approval process for Joby’s aircraft in Saudi Arabia, positioning the Kingdom at the forefront of advanced air mobility. Saudi Arabia joins the U.S., the U.K., Japan, South Korea and the UAE as another key launch market for Joby's air taxi service.
“We’ve been collaborating with the FAA since 2016 on the certification and the commercial operations of our aircraft, and we’re now putting those standards to work on a global scale,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “We look forward to partnering with GACA on this bold endeavour: to bring quiet, fast and convenient air mobility to Saudi Arabia.”
“This partnership represents a critical step in advancing the Kingdom’s AAM ambitions. Our focus is not only on bringing future technologies to Saudi Arabia, but on building the knowledge and know-how required to sustain them. By localising key elements of manufacturing and developing highly qualified national talent, we are creating an ecosystem that enables innovation to thrive. Supported by a robust and forward-looking regulatory framework, this initiative reinforces the Kingdom’s leadership in shaping the future of aviation, in alignment with the AAM roadmap derived from the Aviation Programme in the National Transport and Logistics Strategy,” said Captain Sulaiman bin Saleh Al- Muhaimedi, Executive Vice President of Aviation Safety and Environmental Sustainability at (GACA).