U.S. government’s big bet on air taxis begins in beta with first successful test flight

beta announced Friday that it has completed the first test flight in the U.S. government’s wide-ranging electric vertical takeoff and landing pilot program aimed at realizing the vision of flying taxis.

Aerospace companies supported by AmazonThe flight transported United Therapeutics manufactured organs between airports in Maryland and Virginia, according to the report. The total flight distance was approximately 275 nautical miles.

“Today’s successful mission sets the stage for routine medical applications of electric flight at a much lower cost across the country,” Beta CEO Kyle Clark said in a release.

The industry has been touting flying cars as a solution to congested traffic for years, including in medical, cargo and defense applications. Beta is one of several electric air taxi manufacturers racing to win Federal Aviation Administration certification and begin commercially transporting passengers. The schedule was postponed as certification proved difficult to obtain.

President Donald Trump’s eVTOL testing program, launched through an executive order last year, provided an opportunity to accelerate approval.

The program is led by the Department of Transportation and the FAA and spans eight projects across 26 states. Beta is the most active company, participating in seven of them.

The government initially said testing would begin this summer.

Beta’s eVTOL aircraft is scheduled to be certified in 2028. The company is also on track for certification of its conventional takeoff and landing aircraft in 2027.

Beta’s stock has lost about half its value since its initial public offering in November.

Appetite across the industry is sluggish; joby and archer aviation Stock prices have fallen by more than a third this year. british vertical aerospace It lost 68% of its value. Some companies are also in the midst of heated legal battles.

WATCH: How legal battles slowed down the US eVTOL industry