Flying Taxis Are Coming to the Pacific Northwest — And Washington State Is Part of It

OLYMPIA, WA — The days of sitting in I-5 traffic between Seattle and Portland may be numbered. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday the selection of eight pilot programs that will bring electric flying taxis and advanced air mobility aircraft to skies across the country — including right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Washington State is among 26 states represented in the newly created Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program, known as eIPP. The Utah Department of Transportation is leading the region's selected project, which spans four states across the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the Plains of Oklahoma. Industry partners include Joby Aviation, BETA Technologies, and Ampaire, among others.

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy unveiled the selections Monday, calling the program a landmark moment for American aviation. The initiative was authorized under President Trump's Unleashing Drone Dominance Executive Order and is intended to accelerate the safe integration of eVTOL — electric vertical takeoff and landing — aircraft into the national airspace.

For Pacific Northwest residents, the implications are significant. The region's geography — with mountain ranges, water crossings, and communities separated by terrain that makes ground travel slow and costly — makes it a natural fit for air mobility solutions. Rural and remote communities in Eastern Washington, the Olympic Peninsula, and across the Cascades could eventually benefit from faster regional connections, emergency medical transport, and cargo delivery that bypasses clogged highways and difficult terrain.

The American public is expected to begin seeing aircraft operating under the program by summer 2026. Data gathered from the pilot operations will be used by the FAA to develop regulations that enable the technology to scale safely nationwide.
The program received more than 30 proposals before eight were selected following a technical review by DOT and FAA evaluators.