The push to bring electric air taxis into everyday transportation is gaining another foothold in Texas, with Joby Aviation establishing a new 45,000-square-foot facility at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
The new site in Haslet, Texas, will give Joby a base for its planned operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and represents the company’s first significant presence in North Texas. More importantly, it arrives as Texas prepares to become one of the first large-scale real-world testing grounds for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Joby’s aircraft is designed to take off and land vertically, eliminating the need for a conventional runway. The company is developing the all-electric aircraft for passenger transportation, with the longer-term goal of operating air taxi services in and around major cities.
The new Texas facility places Joby inside AllianceTexas, a large aviation and logistics development centered around Perot Field.
According to the company and Hillwood, the site will support Joby’s preparations for flights under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). Joby was selected by the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration in March as one of the participants in the eIPP. The state’s project is intended to create a real-world environment for testing eVTOL operations, with planned connections across the Texas Triangle and between major metropolitan areas and surrounding communities.
Joby is participating in the Texas project alongside the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The company’s own plans describe a network initially connecting Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, with eventual expansion toward Houston.
Why the Dallas-Fort Worth area matters
Dallas-Fort Worth is an unusually demanding environment for testing a new class of aircraft. The region contains major airports, dense urban development and complex airspace, meaning an eVTOL service cannot simply operate independently of existing aviation traffic. Before air taxis can become a practical transportation option, regulators and operators need to establish how they can safely share airspace with conventional aircraft.
That work has been underway for years. NASA and Joby previously conducted detailed simulations of eVTOL operations around Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, examining how the aircraft could be integrated into existing air traffic. One simulation tested scenarios involving as many as 120 eVTOL arrivals or departures per hour in DFW’s airspace.
The eIPP now moves the concept beyond simulations toward real-world operations. TxDOT says the Texas project is intended to support air taxi, cargo and logistics, and emergency-response applications while generating data that can help inform future regulatory frameworks.
The 45,000-square-foot site is being established within the Alliance Air Trade Center at Perot Field. The facility gives Joby a physical base within one of the country’s major aviation and logistics ecosystems and connects the company to the regional workforce and infrastructure surrounding AllianceTexas.
It also places Joby directly within the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone, a public-private initiative focused on testing and developing new transportation technologies.
The location is therefore more than an office expansion. For an aircraft that eventually needs to operate as part of an urban transportation network, having a local base for flight operations, infrastructure development, and coordination with aviation and transportation partners is an important part of turning the concept into a functioning service.
The development also reflects Texas’ broader push into advanced air mobility. TxDOT says initial operations under its eIPP project are planned for the fall or winter of 2026, although operational details are still being finalized with the FAA.
Joby, meanwhile, was selected to participate in multiple eIPP applications covering several U.S. states and has said it expects to begin early operations in 2026. The company describes the program as a way to demonstrate its aircraft in communities before full FAA type certification, while working with federal, state, and local authorities on airspace integration and infrastructure.
