IMAGE VIA GREATER ORLANDO AVIATION AUTHORITY
Orlando International Airport is moving forward with plans to host flying taxi (we can’t say flying cars anymore) demonstrations, with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority board recently approving the development of a vertistop, a small electric aircraft takeoff and landing pad, near the airport’s Train Station.
The vertistop will support demonstrations of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft with the FAA, Florida Department of Transportation, NASA, local air traffic control, and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. The project is still subject to FAA approval and FDOT support.
Air taxis are small electric aircraft designed to carry a handful of passengers on short urban or regional trips, and they’re like a cross between a helicopter and a drone, but scaled up to carry people instead of your Walmart order.
The most common design is the eVTOL (electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft), which uses multiple electric rotors to lift off and land vertically like a helicopter but flies more efficiently in cruise like a small plane. Most current designs seat two to six passengers and are intended for trips of 25 to 60 miles, making them well-suited for routes like downtown Orlando to the airport, or Tampa to Orlando. Nobody knows how much they’ll cost in the beginning, but most estimates from companies like Joby sit at around $100 to $200 for a city-to-city trip, or $3 per mile.
The move builds on Florida’s selection in March 2026 as one of eight proposals chosen under the FAA’s eVTOL and Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program, a three-year federal initiative to accelerate the safe integration of air taxis into the national airspace. The MCO vertistop is part of a broader vision to develop a full on-airport vertiport by 2030.
Several eVTOL companies are already eyeing the I-4 corridor. Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation both have active partnerships with Florida stakeholders, and FDOT has been developing a statewide Aerial Highway Network concept that would eventually connect Tampa, Orlando, and Miami with air taxi routes. A vertistop at MCO, particularly one positioned near the SunRail train station, would fit right into a multimodal hub capable of connecting passengers arriving by rail, road, or air.
