GACA signs MoU with Joby Aviation to speed up air taxi certification

Joby signed a MoU with GACA to accelerate the certification and rollout of air taxis in the Kingdom.

Joby Aviation, a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed company developing electric air taxis, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to accelerate the certification and rollout of air taxis in the Kingdom.

In a statement, the company said the MoU aims to establish a streamlined certification process based on US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, providing a regulatory foundation to speed up local certification in Saudi Arabia.

Joby said it is nearing the final stage of securing type certification from the FAA, which includes aircraft testing by FAA pilots to directly assess the aircraft’s safety and performance.

Under the MoU, Joby and GACA will collaborate on three key initiatives to support the development of a regulatory framework for air taxi services in the Kingdom. These include providing technical expertise in type design, production, and operations to guide the creation of a comprehensive regulatory system for advanced air mobility.

They will also cooperate in airworthiness standards to ensure the efficiency of the type certification validation process issued by the FAA.

The partnership will also focus on developing and aligning key regulations to enable the initial phase of operations, including pilot licensing, maintenance frameworks, and airspace integration.

The company noted that Saudi Arabia will join the US, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and the UAE as another major market for the launch of Joby Aviation’s air taxi services.