SAN ANTONIO – The future of air travel could take off from San Antonio in just a few years.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was one of eight agencies selected nationwide by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration for a new air travel program.
It’s called the “Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program.”
The initiative focuses on so‑called eVTOL Aircraft, which are electric or hybrid vehicles that can take off and land vertically like helicopters. Their uses range from urban air taxis to emergency medical response.
KSAT spoke exclusively with TxDOT officials about the federal program. The department said Port San Antonio will play a central role in a new federal effort to test and integrate flying taxis and other advanced aircraft into the nation’s airspace.
“Port San Antonio will serve as a primary innovation hub for that next generation of aviation,” said Sergio Roman, TxDOT’s director of emerging aviation technology. “They have some good plans that they’ve had for quite a few years about what a vertiport might look like and what routes in and around the San Antonio area. This will enable all of us as a team to try to move that forward and make sure that we can start utilizing those routes.”
Under the program, TxDOT will work with aircraft manufacturers and partners across Texas — including at Port San Antonio — to design, test and eventually deploy the aircraft for several different types of operations.
The partners included in the announcement are Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies, Joby Aviation and Wisk Aero.
The flying taxis could carry passengers between different parts of the San Antonio area, as well as regional flights connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and eventually Houston.
Roman said the project will roll out in three phases over three years, with initial activity set to begin in the next few months.
“So within 90 days, we’re going to be doing operations to support Project Nexus and this advanced air mobility initiative,” he said. “The entire pilot project is set to last three years right now. And that’s why we’re phasing this out over three years and three phases.”
The first phase will focus on testing routes and the technology needed to safely integrate the new aircraft into Texas’ airspace.
“We’re going to start testing routes and technology that would be needed to be able to allow these new innovative types of aircraft to operate in the state,” Roman said, in part. “Once that first phase is completed and we’ve verified the routes, validated the technology and the safety and security of all of it, then we move into our next phase of operations.”
TxDOT and its partners plan to use eVTOL Aircraft in the second phase for missions such as emergency medical response, cargo and logistic missions and moving supplies between different hubs in cities and rural communities.
A third and more advanced phase is where San Antonio residents could start to see passenger service.
“That’s when the public can start seeing passenger air taxis, where instead of sitting in traffic for 20 or 40 minutes, you could realize that same trip in maybe six, 10 or 15 minutes,” Roman said.
He described the aircraft as all‑electric or sometimes hybrid, operating similarly to helicopters but in a “much more efficient, safer” way with quieter operations and more flexibility.
Roman said that if testing and development stay on schedule, San Antonio residents and other Texans could be riding in flying taxis by the end of the decade.
“If everything goes to plan and we do our job right, by 2029, that should be a reality,” he said. “You could go to what we call a vertiport and jump on one of these aircraft, and fly on this electric aircraft to your destination, and get off, and there’s your trip.”
Officials said the broader federal initiative spans 26 states and includes a range of concepts, from urban air taxi services and regional passenger transportation to cargo networks, offshore operations and autonomous flight technologies.
Supporters say the technology could create new jobs, improve community connection and bolster U.S. leadership in aviation.
San Antonio is positioned as one of the places where that future could first become visible.