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São Paulo has resumed discussing, in concrete terms, the entry of so-called flying cars into the urban network.
On April 13, 2026, the City Council hosted a symposium on urban air mobility and eVTOLs, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that have already progressed from the development phase to the testing stage in Brazil.
The models under analysis have an initial configuration for four passengers, an estimated range of 100 kilometers, and focus on short routes, connecting strategic areas of the capital and airport terminals.
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Tests with eVTOLs advance in Brazil
The debate occurs at a time when the technology has moved from being just a market projection to generating practical results.
Eve Air Mobility, a company linked to Embraer, announced that it conducted the first flight of the full-scale prototype of its eVTOL on December 19, 2025, a milestone that opened the flight testing campaign of the program.
According to the company, the initial stage served to validate the integration of systems considered central to the aircraft, including the fifth-generation fly-by-wire concept, lift rotors, and energy management.
In the inaugural test, the company also assessed the performance of the eight dedicated vertical lift propellers, as well as the dynamic response of the aircraft and its noise emission.
The technical design released by Eve combines these rotors with fixed wings and a separate propulsion system for cruise flight, a solution chosen to meet intra-urban and metropolitan travel.
Public documents from the company indicate that the aircraft was designed, in the initial phase, to carry four passengers and one pilot, with a range of about 100 km upon entering service.
Challenges for implementation in São Paulo
In the São Paulo City Council, the focus of the symposium was less on the visual appeal of the novelty and more on the obstacles to making it viable.
The program brought together specialists, technicians, authorities, and researchers to discuss operational safety, organization of urban airspace, integration with ground mobility, and the implementation of vertiports, structures aimed at landing, takeoff, charging, and ground support.
The municipal legislature itself highlighted that the adoption of this system depends on a complex ecosystem, with specific regulations, energy infrastructure, coordination with air traffic control, and training of professionals.
This point is crucial in a city that already coexists with one of the largest helicopter networks in the world and, at the same time, suffers from chronic congestion.
The promise of the sector is to occupy precisely the niche of short and high-value time displacements, such as connections between financial centers, business districts, and airports.
Still, the transition between helicopters and eVTOLs will not be automatic.
In addition to regulatory requirements, it will be necessary to define routes, approach and departure procedures, noise criteria, fire-fighting systems, and access and boarding mechanisms compatible with densely urbanized areas.
Vertiports gain space in plans
The ground infrastructure has already begun to move out of the conceptual field.
In February 2025, Eve announced collaboration with VertiMob and PRS Aeroportos, a consortium that includes the operator of Campo de Marte Airport, to participate in the regulatory sandbox of the National Civil Aviation Agency.
The testing environment was created precisely to develop solutions and operational parameters for vertiports, including physical capacity, security systems, access control, noise requirements, maintenance areas, and landing and takeoff trajectories.
The project, according to the company, was structured to last 24 months.
At the same time, private initiatives began to aim for a future network between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
In January 2026, CNN Brazil reported that UrbanV and Pax Aeroportos announced plans to install structures aimed at the operation of eVTOLs in Campo de Marte, in the capital of São Paulo, and in Jacarepaguá, in Rio.
The proposal is to take advantage of already established urban airports to create connection points with high-demand regions and, in the case of São Paulo, to coordinate links with corporate areas and the main airports of the metropolis.
Certification and Start of Operations
Although public discussion often uses the term “flying car,” the rollout of the service follows a more cautious timeline than the imagination suggests.
Eve reported, after the first flight, that it intends to manufacture six compliant prototypes for the testing campaign and continues to work with the ANAC, the main certifying authority of the program, as well as validating bodies such as FAA and EASA.
The company’s official expectation today is to obtain type certification, make the first deliveries, and begin operations in 2027.
This update shifts the discussion to a more realistic ground.
Instead of treating the arrival of eVTOLs as an immediate transformation, the sector has begun to emphasize the gradual construction of market, infrastructure, and regulations.
Recent reports and communications from Eve indicate that the company sees São Paulo and Rio among the relevant cities for the advancement of urban air mobility in the country, but conditions this evolution on regulatory maturation, public acceptance, availability of vertiports, and integration with existing transportation systems.
In the case of São Paulo, the open debate in the Legislative shows that the city is trying to anticipate the problem before commercial operations begin.
The discussion about routes, integration with metro and buses, connection with airports, and the use of already structured areas for executive aviation indicates that the challenge has ceased to be merely technological.
Now, progress depends on transforming industrial promise into regulated service, connected to the real city and compatible with the safety, noise, energy, and urban planning requirements that a system of this scale inevitably imposes.
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