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Skyports Infrastructure’s Downtown Skyport in Manhattan received five eVTOL flights during Joby Aviation’s week-long New York City flight campaign between April 23 and May 1, with the facility also serving as Joby’s base for aircraft operations and charging in Manhattan.
The flights were part of Joby’s 2026 Electric Skies Tour and covered routes between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Downtown Skyport, and heliports at West 30th Street and East 34th Street. Joby said the routes trace some of the commercial services it envisions for New York, connecting Lower Manhattan and Midtown to JFK in under 10 minutes.
Downtown Skyport is described as the only commercial vertical aviation facility in Manhattan currently capable of handling eVTOL charging. Skyports took on the concession to operate the facility from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), with a core contractual commitment to make it Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ready. Permanent rapid charging infrastructure is in advanced planning stages and is expected to be fully functional in 2027.
On April 28, Joby hosted an event at Downtown Skyport for government and local stakeholders, including a point-to-point flight from JFK and a demonstration of vertical takeoff and landing alongside the aircraft’s low noise profile.
“These landings demonstrate how eVTOL flights can already be supported by the infrastructure at Downtown Skyport and be seamlessly integrated into our existing operations,” said Addison Ferrell, director of infrastructure at Skyports Infrastructure.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said: “We first flew here in 2023, and now we’ve shown what the next chapter looks like: a quiet, zero operating emissions air taxi service designed to better serve New Yorkers.”
