Delays Plague Vertical Aerospace eVTOL Certification

The company, which has pushed its target to 2026, expects industrywide certification 'timeline corrections.'

Jack Daleo

Monday, May 15, 2023 at 03:51 PM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

The VX4, pictured, won’t be certified in the U.K. until 2026. [Credit: Vertical Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

Vertical Aerospace has again delayed its VX4 air taxi certification to 2026, citing a lack of agreement with authorities on compliance methods for new technology, a challenge its CEO expects will affect the entire eVTOL industry.
This delay is part of a broader trend, with other major eVTOL players like Joby and Lilium also pushing back their launch or certification timelines due to ongoing regulatory hurdles and evolving certification standards.
Despite being financially leaner than some competitors, Vertical boasts significant pre-orders and a key design organization approval in the UK; however, the entire industry faces a complex and uncertain global regulatory landscape that will likely push initial eVTOL certification several years further out.

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Are air taxi services due for a “timeline correction?”

That’s the outlook for Bristol, U.K.-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace, which at the beginning of May told shareholders that it’s pushing back certification of its VX4 air taxi with Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) from 2025 to 2026. It’s the second time the firm has delayed certification since April 2022, when it changed its target from 2024 to 2025.