The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently hosted the first point-to-point electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft demonstration flights at its airports.
The trial run with Joby aircraft operated between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and several sites across the city’s existing heliport network, including the Downtown Skyport and the West 30th Street and East 34th Street heliports in Midtown.
“The bridges, tunnels, airports, and rail lines that the Port Authority operates move hundreds of millions of people through this region every year, and our job is to make sure that network keeps pace with the future,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “This cutting-edge aircraft is exactly the kind of innovation we have a responsibility to demonstrate, understand, and help shape for the good of the region and the public. These flights advance our work to determine how next-generation aviation technology can serve the people of New York and New Jersey.”
The milestone flight reflects the Port Authority’s continued commitment to safety and innovation by advancing next-generation transportation solutions and builds on the agency’s aggressive agenda to reach net-zero carbon emissions across all operations by 2050.
“We operate some of the busiest airports in the world, and with that comes a responsibility to think seriously about what aviation looks like in the decades ahead for our passengers, for our communities, and for the environment,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “This demonstration flight is one data point in a larger body of work we’re building around next-generation electric aviation, and it reflects our conviction that responsible exploration of these technologies now is how we prepare this region for the future.”
Aviation students from nearby Queens high schools and Vaugn College attended the milestone event at JFK to watch the Joby aircraft lift off from JFK.
Credit: PANYNJ
It follows the agency’s 2025 partnership with BETA Technologies on the first all-electric passenger aircraft flight to land at a Port Authority airport, and the agency’s selection earlier this year for the Federal Aviation Administration’s first-of-its-kind electric aircraft integration pilot program.
“New York has always been a city that defines the future by demanding better,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “We first flew here in 2023, and now, building on years of experience moving people across this city, we’re showing what the next chapter looks like: a quiet, zero operating emissions air taxi service designed to better serve New Yorkers. This week, in coordination with the FAA’s eIPP program office and alongside the Port Authority, we proved what that future can look like by flying between JFK and Manhattan.”