Israel Moves Toward Urban Air Mobility as New Low Altitude Rules Target 2027

Israel is taking another step toward a future in which drones, electric vertical takeoff aircraft and eventually air taxis could become part of the country’s transportation network.

At Israel’s first professional conference dedicated to Advanced Air Mobility, held at Atidim Park in Tel Aviv, Civil Aviation Authority director Shmuel Zakai said the authority is aiming to have a regulatory concept and rules for managing low altitude airspace ready during the first half of 2027.

The issue is becoming increasingly important as Israel expands the use of unmanned aircraft and prepares for a new generation of electric aircraft known as eVTOLs, which are designed to take off and land vertically.

Israel is already building the groundwork

Urban air mobility in Israel is not starting from zero.

For several years, the country has been running experimental programs involving drones, automated air traffic management and civilian delivery applications through the national drone initiative known as NAAMA.

Those trials have examined how multiple aircraft could operate simultaneously in shared airspace and how such systems could eventually support commercial activity in densely populated areas.

In 2023, Israel also carried out a demonstration involving an electric eVTOL aircraft with the future potential to carry passengers, marking another step toward more advanced forms of urban aviation.

For now, however, the first practical uses are expected to focus on cargo and public services rather than passenger transportation.

Tel Aviv could become an early test case

Tel Aviv is already emerging as one of the most significant locations for the next phase of the industry.

At the end of 2025, plans were announced for an advanced landing facility at Atidim Park that is expected to support drones and future electric aircraft.

The initial focus is expected to be medical logistics, including the transport of medicines and medical samples.

That makes the project especially relevant because it provides a realistic path for introducing advanced air mobility into everyday urban life before passenger air taxis become commercially available.

The same infrastructure could later serve more advanced aircraft as the technology and regulatory environment develop.

Cities may have a major role

Zakai also highlighted the importance of local authorities in managing activity close to the ground.

National aviation regulators will remain responsible for aircraft certification, flight rules and safety, but cities are likely to play an important role in determining where aircraft can take off and land and how new infrastructure fits into the existing urban environment.

In a city such as Tel Aviv, that could eventually involve rooftops, transportation hubs, hospitals and business centers.

Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Meital Lehavi told the conference that the municipality already uses drones for purposes including event management, safety, security and monitoring.

Future applications could include urgent deliveries and medical transportation.

The infrastructure has to come first

One of the international guests at the conference was Carlo Tursi, former CEO of UrbanV, which has been involved in building infrastructure for advanced air mobility in Rome.

His message to Israel was that cities should not wait for air taxis to become widely available before preparing the systems needed to support them.

UrbanV has already developed vertiport infrastructure in Italy and conducted demonstration flights as part of efforts to build an eventual urban air mobility network.

Tursi argued that pilot projects and demonstrations can help cities move gradually toward commercial operations while regulators, infrastructure providers and aircraft manufacturers develop in parallel.

His central point was that the growth of the sector depends not only on aircraft in the sky, but also on the infrastructure available on the ground.

From drones to passenger aircraft

The most likely path for Israel is expected to be gradual.

Medical deliveries, emergency services, logistics and municipal drone operations are likely to expand first.

Passenger carrying eVTOL aircraft could follow later as aircraft certification, infrastructure and operating regulations mature.

That makes the Civil Aviation Authority’s 2027 target particularly significant.

The goal does not mean that commercial air taxis will begin carrying passengers over Tel Aviv in 2027. Rather, it represents another step toward creating the regulatory framework that would eventually make such services possible.

For Israel, a country with a strong aviation, drone and technology sector, the development of low altitude airspace could become an important new layer of the national transportation system.

And Tel Aviv may be one of the first places where that future begins to take shape.