Miami International (KMIA), Miami Executive (KTMB), and other local airports plan to begin operational trials of drones and eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) air taxis.
The Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) will install a new air traffic management system across ramp facilities at Miami Executive, creating a “live testing ground” that will study air taxis under “real conditions,” it said in a news release Tuesday.
The pilot program will also cover Miami International and “surrounding Miami-Dade County airports.” In addition to KMIA and KTMB, MDAD operates Opa-Locka Executive (KOPF), Dade-Collier Training and Transition (KTNT), and Miami Homestead General Aviation (X51) airports.
The pilot, called “SafeLand,” will be facilitated by Bell-Dancy Industries (BDI), a Los Angeles-based provider of autonomous infrastructure for advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft.
The company’s flagship platform, ALTA (Autonomous Landing and Take-off Assistant), uses that infrastructure to create “protected airspaces” specifically for AAM operations at airports, vertiports, distribution centers, offshore locations, and other sites. It is designed for commercial, medical, and military applications.
MDAD’s news release describes SafeLand as a “structured pilot program that will stand up the physical and digital infrastructure necessary to better support air taxi operations in an urban aviation environment.” The partners will begin operations with uncrewed drones to “stress-test” the system before moving to full-scale air taxi operations under FAA oversight.
Beyond ALTA’s installation at Miami Executive ramp facilities, MDAD and BDI did not say how the system might be integrated at other airports.
“We are positioning Miami-Dade County and Miami International Airport as global leaders in innovation, connectivity, sustainability, and advanced mobility,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Initiatives like the ‘SafeLand’ program reflect our commitment to building a smarter, safer, and more resilient transportation ecosystem that expands opportunity, strengthens economic growth, and ensures every community benefits from the future of aviation.”
Darrell Bell, BDI’s CEO, said the pilot’s goal is to create a “repeatable model” for other states.
The FAA envisions third-party providers of uncrewed aircraft traffic management (UTM) services, such as BDI, Thales, and ANRA Technologies, integrating widespread drone operations under a new Part 146, proposed in the agency’s Part 108 rule. It is exploring similar systems to manage larger air taxis, which would complement operating systems that their manufacturers are developing.
“The infrastructure we build here will serve as a reference point for cities around the world,” Bell said in a statement.
San José Mineta International Airport (KSJC) in California announced its own SafeLand pilot in December. The project also involves FBO Signature Aviation, which will install ALTA on its ramp at KSJC. Like the Miami pilot, the partners will begin with drones before advancing to larger eVTOL models.
San José Mineta International said the agreement makes SafeLand eligible for inclusion in the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), which will permit real-world operations with precertified aircraft. American Air Advantage Consortium, the California state-sponsored group that applied to the eIPP, was not selected for the program in March. But BDI said it is a partner in multiple winning eIPP bids, which will allow SafeLand to be deployed more broadly.
Bell in Tuesday’s release said the company is also “excited to bridge the gap between local communities” in Texas.
Florida Invests in Air Taxis
Signature, the FBO working with BDI in California, has partnerships with air taxi manufacturers Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, Wisk Aero, and Eve Air Mobility, as well as a joint venture with vertiport developer UrbanV to build a nationwide AAM network. Florida is one of the four states planned to anchor that network.
Archer is also working with Skyports and Vertiports by Atlantic—a subsidiary of Atlantic Aviation—to develop vertiports in the Miami area.
Archer, Wisk, Hyundai’s Supernal, and the U.K.’s Vertical Aerospace are among the air taxi firms that have positioned Florida as a launch market. The state is laying the groundwork to accommodate all of them.
BDI is also an infrastructure partner for Suntrax, the state’s dedicated test facility and proving ground for air taxis and the nation’s first aerial AAM test track. The approximately one-mile track gives developers dedicated airspace and a controlled testing environment.
Suntrax comprises two vertiports that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in October are under construction. Both are expected to be operational this year. They are complemented by two nearly 20,000-square-foot hangars that can each store two aircraft; aircraft-agnostic charging stations; turf runway for short takeoff and landing (STOL); test aprons for measuring airflows and downwash; and a building that serves as a mock passenger lounge, simulating security, luggage management, boarding, and other operations.
MDAD said its SafeLand program will “serve as direct support for this statewide effort” by launching “operational urban integration.” Per Suntrax’s vision plan, AAM infrastructure will be “fully activated and ready to enable passenger travel” in Florida by the end of 2026.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in 2025 released a proposed aerial highway network and phased plan to introduce intercity AAM operations statewide, from Pensacola to Key West.
Phase one calls for aerial corridors over Florida’s Interstate 4 and along the coast from Miami to Port St. Lucie. Three more routes would connect Tampa and Naples, Miami and Key West, and Pensacola and Tallahassee. A second phase comprises routes connecting Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Orlando and Lake City, Tampa and Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Tallahassee, and traveling east and west out of Sebring.
The network would require vertiport installations at the state’s major airports. A few, including Orlando International (KMCO), are already exploring them. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) told FLYING that contract negotiations with prospective developers and operators for the KMCO project could begin this summer.
DeSantis in April signed legislation that permits the use of state funds for such projects when they are not federally supported. The bill also modified state statutes to bring vertiport projects under the umbrella of its public-private partnership framework. That will allow private companies to assist with vertiport design, building, construction, financing, management, and operation.
And then there is the eIPP. FDOT was among the eight winning bidders for the three-year program, which will span 26 states. It is partnering with Archer, Beta, Electra, and Joby Aviation to trial cargo delivery, passenger transport, automation, and medical response. The eIPP represents an opportunity to test not just aircraft performance but traffic management, safety, and operational feasibility.
Beta plans to trial cargo and medical logistics operations in partnership with Republic Airways and Metro Aviation. Electra aims to demonstrate the “ultra short access points” that will allow its flagship EL9 to operate from unused parking spaces, piers, barges, malls, and even destinations such as casinos and ski resorts. It will partner with regional airlines and Vertiports by Atlantic to conduct operations and study candidate routes.
