New flying car unveiled in UAE that can fly up to 500km
Imagine cruising from Dubai to Bahrain in only two hours and 20 minutes as well as Riyadh to Kuwait in under two hours and forty minutes, not on a plane, but in a flying car.
If everything goes to plan, by 2027 residents of the United Arab Emirates will be able to take to the skies in "flying cars.”
PAL-V, a mobility solution provider, launched its "flying car" at the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) on Thursday. The two-seater vehicle, which can fly and drive, takes off vertically thanks to its foldable propellers, which can be converted into a car. According to their website, PAL-V’s is dubbed the Liberty, with a base model priced at 800,000 dollars, or roughly 2.9 million dirhams.
It is said to hit the UAE in 2027 after regulations are set in place. Robert Dingemanse, CEO of the company said that the car would require approval from local authorities first.
The flying car is expected to hold a maximum of 2 passengers and 20kg worth of luggage. It will be equipped with a combustion engine, allowing it to fly up to 500 km on a full tank.
Low flying cars can help military and coast guard reach their destination faster than a regular car. Doctors can also get to their patients faster in cases of emergency like needing to reach patients at the hospital on time. Dingemanse claims that flying cars can use readily available roads which makes them practical.
Dingemanse claims flying cars are more affordable than helicopters and provide better economic value. The operational cost associated is less also. Because the flying car works the same way a helicopter does in terms of range and speed, and achieves safer speeds, it can reach any location without problem.
Private ownership of flying cars will be regulated by the local authorities, according to Dingeman. Dingeman also claims with every flying car purchase, the vehicle can act as a flying taxi for commercial use.
Most purchases of PAL-V are expected from the Government based in the UAE, claims the chief of PAL-V.
With preorders on PAL-V flying cars amounting to over 150 million euros, the UAE based corporation Jetex is said to have placed orders for 100 and more PAL-V flying cars.
Archer Aviation and Joby want to launch flying taxis in the UAE by the end of this year or early next year. Archer claims that it will be conducting test flights of its Midnight aircraft in the UAE next summer before the flying taxi operations begin in the UAE.
Commercial use of flying taxis is expected to officially begin in January 2025 when the international vertiport in Dubai will be named Dubai International Vertiport (DXV) marking the first vertiport of its kind in the UAE.
In a statement to PAL-V, issued in April 2025, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said they have no technical objections concerning PAL-V’s plans to deploy 4 seater eco-friendly flying cars in the upcoming years.
SRTI Park’s Chief Executive Officer Hussain Almahmoudi remarks that the launch of flying cars demonstrates a greater interest in advanced travel technologies for the UAE and region as a whole.
As the country’s population grows, these technologies can be utilised for various purposes from tourism, transportation, medical rescuing, and other components of advanced transport, Almahmoudi further noted.
“In SRTIP, we want these technologies developed. We have more than 20 educational institutions and over 40 thousand students here. We built a strong base of labs that can produce 3D components and modern technologies.”
SRTIP's Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing, Juma Abdulla Alhaj, noted that they are interested in working with PAL-V on plans to establish an assembly line for PAL-V’s flying cars.
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