The regulator’s specifications for air taxi operation allayed startups’ fears that its newly minted aircraft category created wouldn’t jibe with their designs.

Powered-lift aircraft like eVTOL, which operate like both helicopters and airplanes, are "the first new category of aircraft in nearly 80 years," the FAA administrator said in announcing the new rule.

Federal regulatory update creates first new class of aircraft in 80 years, sets the stage for future of passenger and cargo transport