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 target to 2026, attributing the shift to difficulties in agreeing on compliance methods with authorities for new technology.
This delay is part of a broader industry trend, with other major eVTOL players like Joby Aviation and Lilium also pushing back commercial launch or certification targets due to regulatory complexities.
The eVTOL industry faces significant and evolving global regulatory hurdles, with certification standards in flux (especially in the US), making widespread commercial operations still several years away despite some progress in UK approvals and international cooperation.

See a mistake? Contact us.

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.