Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday approved the design of the new air taxi stations in Dubai, which will start operating within threeyears.

He approved the design at ‘Day 0’ of the World Government Summit in Dubai.

“Today, we approved the designs of flying taxi stations in Dubai which will operate within three years,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

Announcing the news on his Twitter account, Sheikh Mohammed also shared a clip of the air taxis in his tweet. The video shares information that the Roads and Transport Authority has been working with its partners to develop and design the needed infrastructure for the air taxis to start operating in 2026 – which would make Dubai the first city to have a fully developed network of vertiports (vertical take off and landing ports).

The air taxis would have zero emissions, with a top air speed of 300km/h, the video shows. The flying cabs would each have a pilot and a capacity of four passengers.

Initially, these taxis would go between four areas of Dubai International Airport, Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina.

Eve Holding, an electric aircraft company owned by Embraer, a Brazilian plan maker and Falcon Aviation Services, a UAE-based charter flight operator, have collaborated to make 35 flying taxis and urban air mobility plans for Dubai.

It is the first eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and lift) taxi from the Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. The delivery date is expected to begin in 2026.

Governments welcomed

In another tweet earlier, His Highness welcomed all states and governments taking part in the upcoming edition of the World Government Summit 2023.

The global event is all set to open tomorrow - February 13 to 15 - under the slogan “Shaping Future Governments”.

The summit is being attended by presidents, governments, ministers, officials, heads of international organisations and companies, thought leaders, global experts and prominent business leaders from the private sector.

Tweeting on the occasion, Sheikh Mohammed said: “The UAE welcomes the participation of more than 20 presidents and 150 governments to the World Government Summit, with the event starting in the UAE and centered around a singular message: shaping the future, explore its possibilities and challenges, and trying to draw a positive roadmap for the development of governments around the world.”

This year’s edition will bring together more than 250 ministers, and more than 10,000 government officials, thought leaders and global experts around the world.

More than 80 international, regional and governmental organisations will enrich the event’s sessions and forums.