Le BOURGET, France — Air taxi companies have promised for years that the small planes will soon carry customers and make deliveries— but they have yet to metaphorically get off the ground.

Now, with intense support from President Donald Trump’s administration, companies vying to be the first in the air, including Boeing, are confident the next wave of travel will take off soon.

Wisk Aero, a Boeing subsidiary developing a four-person autonomous aircraft, plans to be certified and flying passengers in the U.S. by 2030 and in Australia in 2032 for the Olympics set to be held there. Archer Aviation, a California-based company working on a five-person air taxi, has promised to offer rides at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Many of the air taxi companies have missed their own deadlines before. German company Volocopter said in 2023 it would fly passengers in its taxis for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris but didn’t get certification in time. The company filed for bankruptcy after the games.

Now, with the federal government cheerleading the new technology, the CEOs are feeling a fresh wave of optimism. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to create a program to test flying cars.

On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration Chris Rocheleau announced a “new roadmap” for getting the air taxis into the sky.

The U.S. agreed with four other countries to streamline the certification process and standardize airworthiness qualifications, or the boxes an aircraft needs to check before a regulator allows it to fly passengers. Those countries, part of the National Aviation Authorities network, are the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

“There was a time when the government created rules and regulations that made it more difficult to innovate in America,” Duffy said. “Those days are over. We have a president, we have a DOT, we have an FAA that wants to see those innovators innovate in America.”

Duffy and Rocheleau announced the new framework Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, an industry event where aerospace companies announce new investments, share product updates and show off flashy new planes. The government officials were flanked by the CEOs of the major air taxi companies, who all thanked the administration for its support of the industry.

The CEO of Archer, Adam Goldstein, called the announcement a “bat signal” that the future of the industry was here.

This type of innovation is broadly referred to in the industry as advanced air mobility, while the air taxis themselves are called eVTOLs, standing for electric vertical take off and landing aircraft. That’s because they launch straight into the air, more like a helicopter than a typical passenger-carrying plane.

Every eVTOL company has a slightly different approach. Wisk, the Boeing subsidiary based in Mountain View, Calif., is developing one that is autonomous.

There are no flight controls inside the cockpit of the bright yellow aircraft, and no pilot. All four seats go to passengers, with room for carry-on luggage, as well. (The aircraft does have the support of a human on the ground.)

The wings have 12 electric lift rotors and, after the taxi rises vertically, the front six tilt to become propellers. Wisk aims to fly the fully battery-electric plane 90 miles.

On top of the federal support, Wisk feels an extra boost of optimism from its backer, executives said at a news conference at the Air Show showcasing the company’s sixth-generation aircraft. Wisk became a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing in 2023, after the airplane manufacturer invested $450 million, as well as an undisclosed sum in an earlier funding round.

Boeing “has demonstrated that it is incredibly serious about autonomy,” said Jia Xu, the CEO of SkyGrid, which develops the digital infrastructure for autonomous flight and was acquired by Wisk in June.

“The fact that one of the premium aerospace companies in the world is heavily invested to make this a reality, and do so in a very comprehensive way … and then bring the whole industry along, I think is incredibly validating of this mission,” Xu said.

Wisk CEO Sebastien Vigneron told reporters at the news conference that the technology needed to make air taxis a reality “is there.”

“It’s not a technical problem. It’s more a regulatory and public acceptance challenge,” Vigneron said. “I won’t lie to you, it’s a challenge to get there. So, the question is, let’s go about it. Let’s push it.”

Vigneron, who was named CEO in May, sees the innovation as more than just a fun, flying taxi. The technology Wisk and other eVTOLs are working on can be used on existing, more traditional airplanes, Vigneron said, calling it “a new ecosystem.”

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