Skyports Infrastructure has reached a pivotal milestone with the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) granting design approval for the Dubai International Vertiport (DXV).
This marks a major step forward for the UAE’s first air taxi station, setting the stage for commercial operations to begin in 2026. The DXV, located near Dubai International Airport, is the first of four planned vertiports in the city to receive GCAA design acceptance.
The 3,100-square-metre facility, developed in partnership with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Joby Aviation, is expected to handle 42,000 landings and serve 170,000 passengers annually.
Damian Kysely, Head of Infrastructure for Europe and the Middle East at Skyports, told Zag Daily that with the approval secured, the project is now entering a critical phase.
“We are in advanced stages of applying for required permits and NOCs from Dubai authorities to allow main construction of the vertiport. In the coming weeks, we will start with site preparation and early works in anticipation of receiving all the required construction permits by March,” said Kysely.
Skyports is targeting early 2026 for the practical completion of the facility. Licensing and operational readiness activities will follow, with the timeline for launching commercial operations contingent on alignment with Joby Aviation and the RTA.
Three-way collaboration
The DXV project is a result of a partnership between Skyports, Joby Aviation, and the RTA. According to Kysely, this collaboration has been instrumental in shaping the UAE’s future air taxi network, now in its fourth year of development.
Kysely highlighted the teamwork behind the scenes, noting that “a couple hundred people are working on this project every single day.” He credited the trust and working rhythm established with Dubai’s government authorities, facilitated by the RTA, as critical to the project’s progress.
These efforts, he added, are laying the groundwork for scaling air taxi services not only in Dubai but globally. “There is a huge amount of learning that each of our organisations is gaining every day, which will give us a competitive edge in rolling out air taxi services in other parts of the world.”
Once operational, the DXV is expected to significantly reduce travel times between key locations, such as a 10-minute journey from DXB to Palm Jumeirah, compared to a 45-minute car ride.
