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Joby Begins Construction Of Dubai’s First Vertiport For Air Taxis
Working alongside Skyports and the Dubai Road and Transport Authority, the company is targeting a 2025 launch date.
Electric air taxi firm Joby Aviation has announced the start of construction on Dubai’s first vertiport, which is set to become part of a larger air taxi network across the city. The new hub, located at Dubai International Airport, is part of a collaborative project with the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) and Skyports.
The initial vertiport at DXB is one of four planned locations that will establish a network for air taxi services, which Joby aims to launch in Dubai as early as late 2025. The other three sites are anticipated to be sited in Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai, and Dubai Marina, creating a cohesive transport network across the Emirate.
“Our air taxi service in Dubai will offer tourists and residents the opportunity to experience a revolutionary travel experience, with faster movement between key destinations and breathtaking views of the city skyline,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby.
He added, “With the start of construction on our air taxi network, our shared vision for electric air taxi service in Dubai is coming to life. I’m grateful to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and to the government of Dubai for their support and commitment to innovation”.
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The new vertiport will integrate seamlessly into Dubai’s extensive and increasingly high-tech transport system, providing easy access to the Dubai Metro’s Emirates Station 2, DXB Airport, and additional parking and ground transport options.
The 3,100-square-meter, three-story facility is designed to prioritize passenger convenience and efficient movement, setting a high standard for future air travel hubs. Equipped with two take-off and landing stands, each stand will feature Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) to enable rapid charging and conditioning of the 200mph air taxis between flights.
News
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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