2026-03-05 13:13:07

Uber is hoping to launch its flying taxi service in London by the end of the 2020s.

The transport firm ‘s chief product officer Sachin Kansal has suggested that the UK capital is a “very high priority market” for its new innovations.

He said: “London is going to be a very high priority market… we know our users [there] would love a feature like this, which will help them escape a lot of the traffic and be able to get from their home to the airport within a few minutes rather than hours.

“I would be very disappointed if that does not happen by the end of this decade.”

Uber is set to launch electric passenger flights in Dubai this year that can be booked on the Uber app in partnership with Joby Aviation.

The company is one of several providers that hopes to offer flying taxis in the UK – with rival Vertical Aerospace aiming to be transporting passengers within the next two years.

Kansal explained that Uber’s system will work by “stitching” trips together. If a Joby aircraft and pilot were available, an Uber car would take a customer to the nearest vertiport for take-off. A car would then meet them at the landing spot closest to their destination to finish the journey.

He said that pricing will be “somewhere close” to Uber Exec, the app’s most luxurious and expensive service.

The flying taxi – which is categorised as an eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) – has space for four passengers and customers will be able to book individual seats on shared trips or an entire aircraft.

The eVTOL is capable of travelling up to 200 miles per hour and covers up to 100 miles on full charge – which takes eight to 10 minutes to restore from empty.

Kensal explained that the tops of car parks and tall buildings can all eventually be turned into flying taxi ranks.

He said: “My expectation would be that we would pick a few spots that give us enough coverage in the city as well as on the outskirts… which could be starting points.

“You just need a clearing to get enough angle to come in, you need enough space, and you need charging infrastructure. And all of that is very creative.”

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