Flying taxis being developed at a Gloucestershire airport could be ready for take-off by 2028.

Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace (VA) has announced plans to secure $700million funding and have the electric vehicles certified for commercial use in the next three years.

It plans to set up a factory at Cotswold Airport near Kemble producing 25 flying taxis, known as the VX4, per year. It will be built next to its existing flight test centre , bringing its footprint at the airport to 100,000 sq ft.

It will also build a new facility next to its research and development centre in Avonmouth, expanding the site to 300,000 sq ft and tripling production of the battery packs needed for the VX4 to 45,000 a year.

Bosses are still considering "locations in the UK and beyond" for full scale production, which it plans to ramp up to 900 aircraft a year in 2035, with a final decision expected next year.

The company's flying taxis or eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) are designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter but fly more like a plane. They use eight large propellers mounted on slim, aircraft style wings to generate lift.

It means they can be operated in city centres and carry up to six passengers up to 100 miles (161km). The business claims this will allow them to whisk passengers from Battersea to Heathrow in just 12 minutes.

So far, the craft has successfully carried out piloted hover flight tests and the company said it is "on track" to complete the final stage of its piloted flight programme by the end of 2025.

It will demonstrate the VX4's ability to shift seamlessly between "helicopter mode" and "airplane mode", showing it is capable of being operated from rooftops, vertiports and heliports. If successful, it will begin hybrid-electric flight testing in 2026.

Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said the company "knows it can certify" the design.

"We've moved from ambition to execution," he said. "Piloted flight tests, the hybrid-electric programme, secured facilities, and greater cost visibility have meaningfully de-risked our plan and strengthened our financial outlook.

"With the final technical proof point - transition flight - anticipated by year-end, we now have a clear, efficient path to certification and commercialization at scale, positioning Vertical to lead the next era of electric flight.

The company already has around 1,500 pre-orders of the VX4, with customers across four continents, including American Airlines, Japan Airlines, GOL, and Bristow. It expects to deliver at least 175 aircraft cumulatively by 2030 - up from previous guidance of at least 150 - with plans to produce 900 a year by 2035.

BACKGROUND

Vertical Aerospace was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick in 2016, who was living near Cirencester at the time. He also founded OVO Energy in Fairford in 2009 before moving that company to Bristol.

Mr Fitzpatrick has previously claimed the company's VX4 aircraft will be "100 times safer and quieter" than a helicopter, for one fifth of the cost.

In 2020 Vertical Aerospace unveiled its first designs for a 'flying taxi'.

In 2023, an unmanned experimental test flight of a VX4 prototype ended with a crash at Cotswold Airport. The same year, one of its earliest shareholders, the engineering giant Rolls-Royce, dropped out of the business.

In November 2024 the firm's engineers managed to fly the aircraft "untethered" for the first time as part of a testing programme, overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr Fitzpatrick is no longer CEO of Vertical Aerospace, having lost control as part of a £39m emergency refinancing deal with Mudrick Capital in November 2024, which was aimed at keeping the company running until the end of 2025. It left Jason Mudrick owning 70% of Vertical's shares, with Mr Fitzpatrick retaining 20% and providing "strategic direction" as a board member.

Last month Simply Wall St reported Mr Fitzpatrick had sold off $36m of shares in the company.