‘Might be a while’: US government report cites uncertainty about electric aircraft entering service

Airports have hesitated to invest, certification challenges remain.

Regulatory, commercial and operational hurdles leave unclear when in-development electric and hybrid-electric aircraft might actually enter service, according to a new US government report.

The report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan research agency, comes as some electric aircraft developers insist they are closing in on regulatory approvals.

“Just how close are we to seeing electric aircraft in the friendly skies?” says the GAO’s newly released report. “In brief, it might be a while… It’s unclear when these aircraft will actually be able to operate commercially.”

The report, completed at the direction of the US Congress, evaluates factors affecting certification and operation of various types of electric and hybrid-aircraft, including short-hop air taxis – known as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft – and regional fixed-wing types.

For its review, the GAO interviewed Federal Aviation Administration and NASA officials and representatives from airports and aircraft and propulsion providers.

The report notes potential benefits of electric aircraft, including reduced emissions and operating costs, less noise, and ability to operate unique missions.

But years after many start-ups launched their development programmes, various factors still make their paths to service entry unclear, the GAO says.

“Most airports interested in supporting electric aircraft” remain in planning and information-gathering stages, though some have already installed charging infrastructure, the report notes.

Many airports have not yet broadly thrown support and investment behind the sector due to factors including cost, with the GAO noting that installing electrification equipment alone can cost $2 million.

“Availability of electricity for the airport may be limited or unreliable, and airports have competing electricity demands,” it adds. Airports have also hesitated because “the viability of the business model for electric aircraft uses such as air taxis is untested”, and airports have concern about the ability of air taxis to operate safely alongside other aircraft.

Electric air taxis, being able to take-off and land vertically, would not need to operate from airports, while some fixed-wing in-development types are designed to operate from landing zones much shorter than runways.

But airports are still a central part of the equation, as many developers envision their aircraft as either flying between airports or from airports to surrounding areas.

The GAO report also cites certification uncertainty, at least in the USA.

Since 2018, the FAA has received certification applications for 23 aircraft with electric propulsion. Manufacturers are seeking approvals either under established airworthiness standards specific to existing aircraft classes (but with modifications called “special conditions”), or under a “special class” designation that pulls in standards from various classes, as applicable.

But manufacturers told the GAO they have been challenged by the FAA having “limited” certification standards for electric aircraft, and too few staff with electric-propulsion expertise.

The FAA told the GAO that it does employ people capable of assessing electric aircraft, and that it has been hiring more. But an increased number of electric-aircraft certification projects has left the FAA’s resources stretched thin, the agency said.

The FAA is considering broad regulatory changes to help “standardise its approach”; such changes could include new eVTOL-specific airworthiness standards. But the agency has set no timeline for such efforts, the GAO says.

Many electric and hybrid-electric aircraft developers are already years behind initial service-entry goals. The companies are racing each other, and many insist they are close. The firms have also been seeking additional investment to keep their expensive flight-test and certification programmes rolling.

Amid slow progress with the FAA, companies like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation have shifted strategies and are now planning to first operate commercial flights in the United Arab Emirates, a country viewed as providing a clearer approval path.