In a strategic step towards the future of smart and sustainable transportation, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Joby Aviation, a leading company in the development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, to accelerate the adoption and deployment of air taxi services in Saudi Arabia.
This partnership aims to enhance the development of advanced air mobility infrastructure and enable sustainable urban mobility solutions, fully aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, positioning the Kingdom as a regional leader in future aviation technologies.
Under the MoU, GACA will align with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification standards to establish streamlined regulatory pathways for the operation of Joby’s aircraft in the Kingdom, placing Saudi Arabia at the forefront of advanced air mobility alongside countries like the U.S., U.K., Japan, South Korea, and the UAE.
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, said:
“We’ve been collaborating with the FAA since 2016 on the certification and commercial operations of our aircraft, and we’re now putting those standards to work on a global scale. We look forward to partnering with GACA on this bold endeavor: to bring quiet, fast, and convenient air mobility to Saudi Arabia.”
Captain Sulaiman bin Saleh Al-Muhaimedi, Executive Vice President of Aviation Safety and Environmental Sustainability at GACA, added:
“This partnership represents a critical step in advancing the Kingdom’s advanced air mobility ambitions. Our focus is not only on introducing future technologies to Saudi Arabia but also on building the knowledge, skills, and national talent required to sustain them. Supported by a robust and forward-looking regulatory framework, this initiative reinforces the Kingdom’s leadership in shaping the future of aviation.”
The initiative will focus on three key areas based on Joby’s FAA certification efforts:
- Providing technical expertise across type design, production, and operational domains to inform the development of a comprehensive regulatory framework that ensures safe, efficient, and scalable deployment of advanced air mobility aircraft within the Kingdom.
- Collaboration on airworthiness standards, ensuring an efficient validation process of the FAA Type Certification.
- Development and harmonization of key regulations to enable the initial phase of operations, including pilot licensing, maintenance, and airspace integration frameworks.
Joby Aviation is setting the pace for the global industry in progressing toward regulatory approval, positioning itself as a trusted partner for countries aiming to deploy air taxi services. In the U.S., Joby is approaching the final phase of FAA Type Certification, involving direct aircraft performance and safety assessments by FAA test pilots. Globally, Joby has been actively contributing to the NAA Network’s five-nation roadmap, creating global certification standards for advanced air mobility.
Joby’s broader commercialization strategy in Saudi Arabia includes key partnerships with Abdul Latif Jameel, exploring the delivery of up to 200 aircraft valued at approximately $1 billion, as well as collaboration with Aloula Aviation (formerly Mukamalah Aviation), the aviation subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, supporting the growth of advanced air mobility in the Kingdom.
