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 delayed its VX4 air taxi certification to 2026, citing difficulties agreeing on compliance methods with authorities, a trend mirrored by other eVTOL companies like Joby and Lilium due to regulatory hurdles.
Despite being the most cash-strapped among leading eVTOL developers, Vertical Aerospace holds the second-highest number of orders and has achieved a crucial design organization approval in the UK.
The eVTOL industry faces an uncertain and evolving global regulatory landscape, with varying approaches in the UK and US, though international collaboration is underway to develop certification frameworks.

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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.