Federal regulators are giving a strong push to electric-powered air taxis by issuing a final rule for operating the aircraft and how pilots will be trained to fly them.

Powered lift includes aircraft described by industry watchers as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL. Using tilt rotors, eVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and then transition into forward flight on fixed wings like a plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration has published new rules that it calls “the final piece of the puzzle” toward allowing half-helicopter, half-airplane, electric “air taxis” to start whizzing through the skies.

The FAA published a highly anticipated special federal aviation regulation that paves the way for the new generation of eVTOL aircraft. At the National Business Aviation Administration-Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas,

US aviation regulators released final safety rules for the nascent air taxi industry Tuesday, crossing a key milestone for companies such as Joby Aviation Inc. and Archer Aviation Inc. to eventually begin commercial operations.

Clearing the way for a new class of "powered lift" aircraft to get off the ground, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 22 October released a finalised rule outlining operational and pilot-training requirements for the burgeoning electric air taxi sector.

Agency will publish guidelines for pilot training and operations of powered-lift aircraft, including electric and hydrogen powered air taxis.

US aviation regulators will release final safety rules for the nascent air taxi industry Tuesday, crossing a key milestone for companies such as Joby Aviation Inc. and Archer Aviation Inc. to eventually begin commercial operations.