Japan Targets 2027 Launch for Commercial eVTOL Flights

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revised its advanced air mobility (AAM) roadmap in March, moving the target for first commercial eVTOL operations to 2027 or 2028. The country had positioned the 2025 World Expo in Osaka as the starting point for commercial eVTOL operations, but the flights that took place there were demonstrations, not passenger service.

Under Japan’s roadmap, commercial passengers services using eVTOL aircraft are expected to begin in select regions by 2027 or 2028. The plan then calls for the introduction of autonomous passenger transport and more advanced traffic management systems in the early 2030s, followed by broader integration of AAM into urban transportation networks in the 2040s.

Alongside the national roadmap, regional stakeholders in Osaka have outlined a more defined deployment target. The Kansai Economic Federation aims to support the operation of approximately 100 aircraft within an 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius of Osaka Bay by 2035. The program calls for the Osakako Vertiport—the site of the World Expo flight demonstrations—to be developed into a central hub anchoring the “Diamond Routes,” a planned network connecting cities across the greater Kansai region.

SkyDrive, whose three-seat SD-05 eVTOL aircraft made its first public demonstration flight at the World Expo, is collaborating with Osaka Metro Co. on the Diamond Routes. In a March 26 statement, SkyDrive said its eVTOL program is shifting from an “experimental phase” to “implementation phase.” The start-up aims to have its aircraft operating in and around Osaka, as well as Beppu Bay in Kyushu, by 2028. Last month, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) approved SkyDrive’s general certification plan for the aircraft.

Last year’s World Expo demonstration flights in Osaka underscored how much work remains to be done before eVTOL aircraft are ready for passenger service. None of the aircraft flying there had type certificates for passenger operations. During the exhibition, Lift Aircraft's single-seat Hexa had demonstrations suspended after motor covers fell off mid-flight. Vertical Aerospace's four-seat VX4, which its partner Marubeni had planned to fly in Osaka, never made it off the ground as the program's piloted flight testing campaign in the U.K. wasn't far enough along. SkyDrive's SD-05 completed a series of short flights over Osaka Bay, but those flights were remotely piloted. The company has yet to fly the aircraft with a pilot on board.

Taken together, the roadmap and Osaka plan provide a clearer path to early operations, but as in other AAM markets, certification, infrastructure, and operational readiness will ultimately determine how quickly commercial service can begin.