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Last year, Salt Lake City won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2034. Now, state leaders are trying to have electric air taxis operating in time for the Games. KUER's Caroline Ballard reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF AIRCRAFT ENGINE HUMMING)
CAROLINE BALLARD, BYLINE: The small, white ALIA aircraft buzzes down the runway and lifts into the sky above Utah's snow-capped mountains. It looks similar to any other small plane overhead. It's designed to carry up to five passengers, and it is entirely electric. Emma Davis, a flight test engineer at Vermont-based aerospace company BETA Technologies that makes the ALIA, really enjoys flying in them.
EMMA DAVIS: So the coolest thing about this aircraft is the view. You'll notice that the windscreen is basically uninterrupted. It's just - it's beautiful. It's breathtaking. And it's exciting just to be able to fly in a piece of, you know, future history.
BALLARD: Back in October, the Federal Aviation Administration recognized electric air taxis as a new type of aircraft, joining helicopters and airplanes. It also outlined training and regulations for pilots to fly them, but there's still a long process before air taxi companies can start operating. State Senator Wayne Harper has worked for years to clear the way for that to happen in Utah. He says companies have told him there are no remaining barriers from the state.
WAYNE HARPER: All the companies say, nope, the barriers are out of the way. The only challenge we have is to make sure we get FAA certification, and we can have airspace that we can fly in.
BALLARD: But with all the policy changes under the Trump administration, there's no firm timeline for when licensed air taxi pilots will take to the skies. On Monday, the FAA said it would temporarily suspend its new air taxi rule while the administration reviews it. Still, Matthew Moss, the Utah Department of Transportation's director of aeronautics, is confident an Uber-in-the-sky-type service will be available in time for the 2034 Olympics. But he says it might not look like science fiction just yet.
MATTHEW MOSS: You know, you think of "Blade Runner" or something futuristic, you know, "Star Wars." These - all these vehicles that are flying in the sky - a hundred years, 200 years, maybe it'll look like that, but it's not going to be anything like that in the near term.
BALLARD: BETA Technologies and Utah's Aerospace and Defense Trade Group are showing off the ALIA aircraft at Utah airports this week. For NPR News, I'm Caroline Ballard in Salt Lake City.
(SOUNDBITE OF GEORGIA SONG, "IT'S EUPHORIC") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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