Trump Admin Greenlights Aircraft That Could Change How Americans Fly

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Sunday that Vermont-based BETA Technologies has won a federal permit allowing it to carry prospective buyers aboard its battery-powered ALIA A250, an aircraft that lifts off vertically and then cruises on wings. The Federal Aviation Administration says no other electric vertical-takeoff craft has received this kind of authorization, a Special Airworthiness Certificate for market surveys. Duffy, speaking at a business aviation convention in Las Vegas, credited President Donald Trump for the progress, according to Daily Wire.

The permit stops well short of letting BETA sell tickets. Airlines and operators can take demonstration rides, but paid passenger service and full type certification remain out of reach. On October 20, the A250 covered 34 nautical miles between New York and Vermont in 20 minutes.

No electric aircraft of this type carries paying passengers anywhere in the country yet. Joby Aviation leads the race for full approval, with five aircraft flying and 12 more being built, though it still needs an air carrier certificate and a vertiport. Overseas, Joby hopes to fly Dubai passengers via Uber by year's end, and China's EHang awaits permission to sell tickets.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Wire’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Wire →