Big news for India. The country is going to get air taxis by 2028. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said this on August 8, 2026. He was in Bengaluru to open Sarla Aviation’s new main office. And he made it very clear — flying taxis are coming to Indian cities soon.
The best part? DGCA has already approved Sarla Aviation’s aircraft design. This means the government looked at how the aircraft is built and said – yes, go ahead and start testing. This is a really big step forward.
Here’s the statement by Minister
Ram Mohan Naidu said Indian cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi have terrible traffic. Everyone knows this. A short 15-kilometer drive can take 90 minutes because roads are full of cars, buses, and autos.
He said air taxis can fix this problem. Instead of sitting in traffic for hours, you can fly over it in minutes. The minister wants to move from testing to actual commercial flights within two years.
But he also said two things are very important – safety and price. The aircraft must be completely safe. And the ticket price must be low enough that normal people can use it. Not just rich businessmen.
Will air taxis fly in India?
Handing over the country’s 3rd EVTOL Design Organisation Approval (DOA) to @sarlaaviation today, my answer is a confident yes!
Within 2 years, India won’t just operate eVTOLs—we will design and manufacture advanced air mobility solutions for the… pic.twitter.com/XnQXIMzRfm
— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) August 8, 2026
Testing Will Start Next Year
Sarla Aviation is going to start test flights of its eVTOL aircraft in 2027. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA will watch everything closely. They want to make sure the aircraft is safe before any passenger gets inside for a paid ride.
On the simulators, took off in the Made in India Sarla eVTOL from Thimmasamudram, Andhra Pradesh, where the eVTOL Sky Factory is coming up.
Under Hon’ble PM’s vision of Make in India and with farsighted leaders like CBN Garu, very soon this virtual experience will become a real… pic.twitter.com/zOW1YiZ8m5
— Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (@RamMNK) August 8, 2026
So the plan is simple. Test in 2027. Get all approvals done. Start flying passengers in 2028. It is a tight timeline but the government seems serious about making it happen.
How Does Sarla Aviation’s Aircraft Work?
Adrian Schmidt, who started Sarla Aviation, said their aircraft is like mixing a drone, a helicopter, and a normal airplane into one. Here is what we know about it:
- It can carry 6 passengers and 1 pilot
- It has 7 electric motors — 6 that lift it up and 1 at the back that pushes it forward
- It runs on batteries (fully electric)
- It can also have a small generator to charge batteries while flying
- It takes off straight up like a helicopter
- Once in the air, it flies forward like a regular plane
Most air taxis in America only carry 4 people. Sarla’s aircraft carries 6. More passengers means the cost per person goes down. This is very important for India where price matters a lot.
Current Investment Information
Sarla Aviation is not some small unknown company working in a garage. Some of India’s richest and smartest people have invested in it:
- Accel – a big venture capital company
- Nikhil Kamath – the guy who started Zerodha (India’s biggest stock trading app)
- Binny Bansal – co-founder of Flipkart
- Sriharsha Majety – co-founder of Swiggy
When people who built Flipkart and Swiggy put their money in, you know they believe this will work.
And that is not all. IndiGo airline also invested in Sarla Aviation earlier this year. India’s biggest airline backing an air taxi company. That means you might one day book an air taxi through IndiGo’s app along with your regular flight ticket.
The Urgency of Air Taxis in India
If you live in Bengaluru, you already know the answer. Traffic is a nightmare. The same is true for Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
Right now, going from Bengaluru airport to Electronic City takes 2 hours by car. In an air taxi? Maybe 10 minutes. Going from Mumbai airport to the business area in BKC? 8 minutes by air instead of 60-90 minutes stuck in traffic.
India has some of the worst city traffic in the entire world. Metro trains are being built but they take 10-15 years and cost thousands of crores. Air taxis can start working much faster because they do not need rails or roads. They just need small landing pads.
India Is Building a Full Ecosystem
Sarla is not the only Indian company making air taxis. The ePlane Company from IIT Madras is also building one. Together, India is creating a proper urban air mobility ecosystem:
- Sarla Aviation – building the aircraft in Bengaluru
- ePlane Company – another Indian eVTOL maker from Chennai
- IndiGo – airline partner to sell tickets and connect routes
- DGCA – making the rules and regulations
- Government – giving policy support and pushing things forward
Having all these pieces in place at the same time is what makes India’s situation exciting. It is not just one company working alone. The whole system is being built together.
How Much eVTOL or Air Taxi cost in India?
This is what everyone in India cares about. In America, air taxi rides will cost $100-$200 (around Rs 8,000-16,000). Most Indians cannot pay that for a daily commute.
Minister Naidu said affordability is key. The government wants air taxi tickets that normal working people can afford. If Sarla can get the price to around Rs 1,500-3,000 for a short city ride, the demand will be insane.
How will they make it cheap? By building the aircraft in India. If most parts are made here, there are no import duties and no dollar exchange rate problems. That brings the final ticket price down for passengers like you and me.
Make in India – But for Aircraft
The minister specifically talked about manufacturing air taxis in India. He does not want India to just import these aircraft from China or America. He wants them built right here.
Sarla Aviation’s headquarters is in Bengaluru. If they build a factory here and source parts from Indian suppliers, it creates thousands of jobs. Engineers, factory workers, technicians, software developers — all of them will be needed.
This is basically Make in India but for flying taxis. And it makes total sense. India has the engineering talent. IITs and NITs produce thousands of engineers every year. The aerospace and drone industry is already growing fast.
Timeline
- 2026: Sarla Aviation sets up headquarters in Bengaluru. Continues building and improving the aircraft.
- 2027: Test flights begin under DGCA supervision. Government watches closely for safety.
- 2028: First commercial air taxi flights in Indian cities.
If this actually happens on time, India will be one of the first countries in the world with working air taxi services. Alongside Dubai, America, and China.