How will air traffic control handle air taxis?
At first, much like it handles helicopters and small planes today. The FAA says early air taxi flights will use existing helipads, airspace, and air traffic control services, with a pilot on board. As flights grow, it says it will add corridors and rules for talking to controllers. Below is what the FAA, NASA, and EASA say. We read every source on October 28, 2026.
Last updated October 28, 2026.
What is the FAA’s plan?
Start with what exists, then build. The FAA says initial operations will be much like the existing service today. As operations scale, it will establish corridors for these vehicles and set rules for communicating with air traffic control when necessary. Source: FAA, role in advanced air mobility, updated October 16, 2026 (opens in new tab). The FAA also expects these aircraft to use existing helipads, airspace, and air traffic control services at first. Source: FAA, Advanced Air Mobility FAQ, updated October 16, 2026 (opens in new tab).
The FAA has tested parts of this on paper. It held tabletop exercises at Orlando, Los Angeles, and Houston airports, and runs human-in-the-loop simulations on how eVTOLs can share airspace and airport facilities with traditional aircraft. Source: FAA, role in advanced air mobility (opens in new tab). Its July 2023 implementation plan, covered below, sets out the details. What is eVTOL? explains the aircraft.
Will air taxis talk to controllers?
Often, yes, near big airports. The FAA’s implementation plan says these aircraft will operate mostly in or around Class B and Class C airspace, the controlled airspace around busy airports. It expects early flights to run under visual flight rules, with a pilot on board and in good weather. Schedules are set in advance and coordinated with local air traffic control. Controllers may use letters of agreement, reserved transponder codes, and short call signs. Source: FAA, Advanced Air Mobility Implementation Plan, version 1.0, July 2023 (opens in new tab).
The rules for Class B airspace are strict. A pilot needs a clearance, a working two-way radio, a transponder that reports altitude, and ADS-B Out, which broadcasts the aircraft’s position. Source: 14 CFR 91.131, read October 28, 2026 (opens in new tab). The powered-lift rule says the usual transponder exceptions don’t apply to air taxis, and that an aircraft in vertical-lift mode may fly below the normal minimum altitudes on routes and altitudes the FAA prescribes for powered-lift. Otherwise air taxis follow the same rules as every other aircraft. Source: 14 CFR Part 194, read October 28, 2026 (opens in new tab). The FAA adds that a powered-lift may fly anywhere aircraft fly today. The aircraft’s equipment and the pilot’s qualifications decide where. Source: FAA, powered-lift rule FAQ, updated October 22, 2024 (opens in new tab). How the FAA certifies powered-lift air taxis covers the pilot side.
What help do controllers give?
It depends on the airspace. The FAA’s plan lists these services for aircraft flying under visual flight rules:
- In Class B airspace, controllers give mandatory traffic advisories, safety alerts, and separation where required.
- In Class C airspace, controllers sequence traffic and keep instrument flights separated from visual ones. The pilot stays responsible for separation from other visual traffic.
- In other airspace, controllers give advisories and alerts, and the pilot is responsible for separation. Operators aren’t guaranteed flight following outside Class B, C, or D airspace.
Source: FAA implementation plan, July 2023 (opens in new tab). The plan also expects no major changes to air traffic control automation systems in the 2025–2028 period, so early flights will use today’s tools.
What are air taxi corridors?
Corridors are routes set aside for air taxi traffic. The FAA’s implementation plan says its first routes will use existing or modified low-altitude routes for visual flight, where possible. Two existing kinds are VFR flyways, which pilots use to avoid Class B airspace without a clearance, and VFR corridors, which cross Class B airspace without a clearance or contact with controllers. The plan says these routes don’t separate or segregate air taxis from other traffic. Source: FAA implementation plan, July 2023 (opens in new tab).
The longer-term idea is bigger. The FAA’s urban air mobility concept of operations describes UAM corridors, airspace where operators manage their own flights using shared information. Controllers keep other aircraft separated from the corridor. Within it, operators and service providers handle keeping flights apart, and controllers step in when something goes off plan. The document also describes “automated flight rules” for corridors, where automation may take on the job of keeping aircraft apart. Source: FAA, UAM concept of operations, version 2.0, April 26, 2023 (opens in new tab).
NASA’s air traffic research follows the same path. A September 2024 NASA briefing says NASA designed drone traffic management to deconflict flights in advance through shared services, which it calls a paradigm shift from conventional air traffic management. It describes a mid-term stage with air taxi corridors and reduced separation, and a far-term stage with separation provided by services and automation. Source: NASA, “Enabling Airspace Integration of Advanced Air Mobility as Operations Scale,” September 24, 2024 (opens in new tab). The drone link matters. Are air taxis drones? explains how the FAA sorts them.
What about wake turbulence?
Until these aircraft get a wake turbulence classification, controllers must apply the existing maximum wake turbulence separation in Class B airspace, the FAA’s plan says. That separation is 10 nautical miles in front of and behind the aircraft, even for visual flights. Source: FAA implementation plan, July 2023 (opens in new tab).
How do landing sites fit in?
The FAA reviews each one. A proposed vertiport goes through an airspace review, and the FAA’s goal is a decision within 90 working days. It says vertiport cases are taking longer because they’re new kinds of facilities and no certificated aircraft exist yet. Source: FAA, Advanced Air Mobility Infrastructure, updated October 23, 2026 (opens in new tab). What is a vertiport? covers the sites, and how air taxis charge covers what goes in them.
Where is the FAA trying this out?
In its eVTOL pilot program. On March 9, 2026, the FAA announced eight projects, and said it will use their data to develop new regulations. Source: FAA news release, March 9, 2026 (opens in new tab). On October 19, 2026, the FAA said Albuquerque became the sixth location to launch, with cargo demonstration flights. Source: FAA news release, October 19, 2026 (opens in new tab). See the FAA’s eVTOL pilot program for the selected companies, and first air taxi routes for the city pairs companies have named.
What about Europe?
EASA is building the same layers. Its July 2025 decision sets a framework for air taxi flights with a pilot on board, and its explanatory note lists rules of the air and air traffic management among the areas covered. It says remotely piloted flights may follow. Source: EASA, ED Decision 2025/010/R explanatory note, July 8, 2025 (opens in new tab). Are air taxis safe? compares the FAA and EASA safety rules.
What does this mean for a ride?
Expect early flights to work much like today’s helicopter service. The FAA says initial operations will look like existing service, and controllers get involved where the airspace requires it. Can air taxis fly in rain, wind, or snow? covers weather, and when air taxis will launch covers timing. Air taxi vs. helicopter compares the aircraft types.