eVTOL air taxis vs helicopters

How do eVTOL air taxis compare with helicopters on range, noise, certification and passenger services today?

This comparison sets eVTOL aircraft and the planned flying taxi service against established helicopters on four dimensions. Where the sources reviewed give no reliable figure, the cell is left empty rather than estimated.

eVTOL air taxis vs helicopters. Each cell shows a value, how well it is evidenced, and its sources.
Option	RangeMaximum distance flown on one full fuel or battery load, in kilometres (km), as stated by the source. Figures assume the stated fuel, payload and reserve conditions.	Noise evidenceNoise level in A-weighted decibels (dBA) for eVTOL test results, or the certification or proposed limit in effective perceived noise decibels (EPNdB) for helicopters. The source's test or limit conditions are given in the cell.	Certification statusApproval status from an aviation regulator, as stated in the cited source. Company statements of progress are marked as reported.	Passenger services operating todayWhether people are being carried on regular or paid flights, with the place and year of the figure. Counts are in trips or passengers as stated by the source.
eVTOL aircraft	35 km (22 miles) stated for the two-seat EHang EH216-S, reported in October 2023. No range figure confirmed for other designs in the sources reviewed.Reported, unverified[5]	Joby prototype in NASA-backed flight tests, reported in May 2022: 45.2 dBA while cruising at 1,640 ft (about 500 m) at 115 mph. The figure is as quoted by AIAA from Aviation International News and was not checked against NASA's own report.Reported, unverified[6]	No type certificate for a piloted passenger eVTOL is confirmed in the sources reviewed. Joby said in November 2025 that its FAA-conforming aircraft were in the final stage of type certification. China certified the autonomous EH216-S in October 2023.Reported, unverified[1][5]	Paid commercial operations with the pilotless EH216-S approved in Guangzhou and Hefei, reported on 1 April 2025, with sightseeing tours planned. Urban commuting is to follow later. No piloted air taxi service is shown in the sources reviewed.Reported, unverified[3]
Flying taxis in cities	No reliable public figure	No measurement over a city in the sources reviewed. EASA proposed in May 2023 that eVTOL noise limits match the heavy helicopter limits in ICAO Annex 16, Volume I, Chapter 8.4.2.Proposed[8]	No piloted passenger eVTOL holds a type certificate in the sources reviewed. Joby's FAA type inspection testing is in its final stage, with FAA pilots expected to fly the aircraft in 2026, according to Joby.Reported, unverified[1]	No fare-paying piloted air taxi in a city is shown in the sources reviewed. Joby planned its first Dubai passenger flights for 2026, as reported in December 2025. Eight US eVTOL trial projects were selected in March 2026, and AVweb reports operations could begin as early as summer 2026.Reported, unverified[4][2]
Helicopters	633 km (342 NM) maximum range with the standard fuel tank for the Airbus H135, per the manufacturer. The page gives no altitude, payload or weather conditions for this figure.Reported, unverified[7]	No reliable public figure	No reliable public figure	About 141,000 UK offshore helicopter trips in 2012 carrying more than one million passengers, per a 2014 market analysis. No current global total is shown in the sources reviewed.Reported, unverified[9]

eVTOL air taxis vs helicopters. Each cell shows a value, how well it is evidenced, and its sources.

Option

RangeMaximum distance flown on one full fuel or battery load, in kilometres (km), as stated by the source. Figures assume the stated fuel, payload and reserve conditions.

Noise evidenceNoise level in A-weighted decibels (dBA) for eVTOL test results, or the certification or proposed limit in effective perceived noise decibels (EPNdB) for helicopters. The source's test or limit conditions are given in the cell.

Certification statusApproval status from an aviation regulator, as stated in the cited source. Company statements of progress are marked as reported.

Passenger services operating todayWhether people are being carried on regular or paid flights, with the place and year of the figure. Counts are in trips or passengers as stated by the source.

eVTOL aircraft

35 km (22 miles) stated for the two-seat EHang EH216-S, reported in October 2023. No range figure confirmed for other designs in the sources reviewed.Reported, unverified[5]

Joby prototype in NASA-backed flight tests, reported in May 2022: 45.2 dBA while cruising at 1,640 ft (about 500 m) at 115 mph. The figure is as quoted by AIAA from Aviation International News and was not checked against NASA's own report.Reported, unverified[6]

No type certificate for a piloted passenger eVTOL is confirmed in the sources reviewed. Joby said in November 2025 that its FAA-conforming aircraft were in the final stage of type certification. China certified the autonomous EH216-S in October 2023.Reported, unverified[1][5]

Paid commercial operations with the pilotless EH216-S approved in Guangzhou and Hefei, reported on 1 April 2025, with sightseeing tours planned. Urban commuting is to follow later. No piloted air taxi service is shown in the sources reviewed.Reported, unverified[3]

Flying taxis in cities

No reliable public figure

No measurement over a city in the sources reviewed. EASA proposed in May 2023 that eVTOL noise limits match the heavy helicopter limits in ICAO Annex 16, Volume I, Chapter 8.4.2.Proposed[8]

No piloted passenger eVTOL holds a type certificate in the sources reviewed. Joby's FAA type inspection testing is in its final stage, with FAA pilots expected to fly the aircraft in 2026, according to Joby.Reported, unverified[1]

No fare-paying piloted air taxi in a city is shown in the sources reviewed. Joby planned its first Dubai passenger flights for 2026, as reported in December 2025. Eight US eVTOL trial projects were selected in March 2026, and AVweb reports operations could begin as early as summer 2026.Reported, unverified[4][2]

Helicopters

633 km (342 NM) maximum range with the standard fuel tank for the Airbus H135, per the manufacturer. The page gives no altitude, payload or weather conditions for this figure.Reported, unverified[7]

No reliable public figure

About 141,000 UK offshore helicopter trips in 2012 carrying more than one million passengers, per a 2014 market analysis. No current global total is shown in the sources reviewed.Reported, unverified[9]

What the table shows

The only eVTOL range figure in the sources reviewed is 35 km for the EHang EH216-S, and no range figure is confirmed for other eVTOL designs.
The eVTOL noise figure is a 2022 Joby prototype result of 45.2 dBA, measured in cruise at 1,640 ft. The helicopter noise cell is empty because the sources reviewed give no readable level.
The Airbus H135 is listed at 633 km maximum range with the standard fuel tank. A 2014 market analysis reports about 141,000 UK offshore helicopter trips in 2012.
For flying taxis in cities, the cells show planned, proposed or in-test status, and no fare-paying piloted service is shown in the sources reviewed.

Read with care

Prototype and test figures for eVTOL aircraft are not comparable with fleet or certified operating figures for helicopters.
Noise units differ. eVTOL test results are in dBA, while helicopter certification uses EPNdB, which weights noise for annoyance, so the two cannot be compared directly.
Range figures come from a manufacturer specification and a press report on one aircraft, and the sources do not state the full test or operating conditions.
The helicopter passenger figure covers the UK offshore sector and one year (2012), and does not show current global activity.

Sources

company announcement
Joby Begins Power-On Testing of First Conforming Aircraft, Enters Final Stage of Type Certification Process
Joby Aviation, 6 Nov 2025. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
FAA, DOT Choose First eVTOL Trial Projects
Matt Ryan. AVweb, 9 Mar 2026. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
Ehang receives green light for commercial VTOL operation in China
Chris Randall. electrive, 1 Apr 2025. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
First Air Taxi Service to Launch in Dubai in 2026
Elan Head. IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec 2025. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
China Issues the World's First eVTOL Aircraft Type Certificate to EHang's EH216-S Autonomous Vehicle
Charles Alcock. Aviation International News, 13 Oct 2023. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
NASA Test Flights of Joby eVTOL Prove Low Noise Levels
AIAA, 11 May 2022. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
other
H135 technical information
Airbus Helicopters, 21 Oct 2026. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
other
EASA publishes world's first proposal on assessment and limitation of air taxi noise
European Union Aviation Safety Agency, 4 May 2023. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
news
Market analysis: UK offshore helicopter fleet
Alasdair Whyte. Helicopter Investor, 6 Mar 2014. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.