US eVTOL expansion advances as Florida signs vertiport bill
Florida Governor signs legislation allowing state funding for vertiport infrastructure as the state advances its push to integrate advanced air mobility.
By Nicole Suárez, Carbon Free Aviation Journalist
23 April 2026
Florida has taken a legislative step that supports making electric air taxis a reality, with the approval of a new law that aims to support the development and funding of facilities designed for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Signed into law by Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, on April 20, 2026, House Bill 1093 adds vertiports, the landing and charging hubs for electric air taxis, as qualifying projects for public-private partnerships, and allows the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to fund up to 100% of vertiport project costs when federal funding is not available, and up to 80% of the nonfederal share when it is.
This change means private developers can partner with the state on vertiport construction under the same legal structure used for airports, seaports, and transit facilities, as the bill incorporates vertiport facilities into the definition of airport infrastructure for Florida’s commercial service airports.
DeSantis acknowledged that his 2025 visit to the Paris Air Show moved his support for the technology from “mildly interested” to “mildly excited.” While attending the air show, he also signed a wide-ranging transportation package that required FDOT to develop a plan for advanced air mobility with the Department of Commerce.
The law passed the Florida Legislature unanimously, 38 to 0 in the Senate and 110 to 0 in the House, and takes effect July 1, 2026.
Prior government efforts
The bill follows several years of efforts to develop a framework for advanced air mobility in Florida. The FDOT was among the eight proposals selected to join the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), chosen from more than 30 proposals submitted from across the country. The eIPP is designed to accelerate the safe deployment of eVTOLs and other advanced air mobility aircraft operations in the United States.
Florida will run a statewide program in three phases focused on cargo delivery, passenger transportation, automation, and medical response. The FDOT’s partners in the program include Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies, Electra, and Joby Aviation, among others.
Those developers are among those expected to operate in Florida under the new framework. BETA Technologies, for example, is slated to carry out cargo and medical logistics operations alongside Republic Airways and Metro Aviation to increase connectivity for urban and rural communities. BETA was selected for seven of the eight eIPP pilot projects nationally (the most of any electric aircraft developer) covering operations across at least 10 states.
Meanwhile, Joby Aviation, which was selected for five of the eight projects —covering Florida, New York and New Jersey, Texas, North Carolina, and Utah— and has been working with Florida officials ahead of those operations. Joby is the furthest along in the FAA certification process among eVTOL manufacturers, with the FAA confirming in late March 2026 that Joby completed Stage 4 of its five-stage type certification process.
The approved pilot projects are anticipated to be operational by June 2026. A House Economic Impact Statement on the bill notes that “The bill authorizes, but does not necessarily require, additional funding within the FDOT Work Program or other existing FDOT operational resources.”
