Air Taxi Startup FlyNow Relocates Global HQ to Riyadh

FlyNow has moved its global headquarters from Salzburg, Austria, to Riyadh after FlyNow Arabia Ltd. acquired a majority stake in FlyNow Aviation GmbH. The company says the relocation makes it the first Saudi-based developer focused on manufacturing pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flying taxis and cargo drones, and will place intellectual property development, engineering, manufacturing, testing and commercialization at its new Saudi hub.

“Saudi Arabia is no longer just FlyNow's first market. It is our home,” said Yvonne Winter, CEO of FlyNow Arabia. Winter also emphasized that the move will not alter the company’s certification approach: “We intend to continue pursuing certification for the eCopter through the established EASA pathway,” she said, adding that EASA approval would later be validated with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) for operations in Saudi Arabia.

Context and technical background

Founded in Salzburg in 2019, FlyNow developed its eCopter technology in Austria and completed extensive flight testing in Europe. The eCopter — a battery-electric aircraft designed to fly fixed routes without a pilot aboard — completed tethered flights near Salzburg in 2023 and its first untethered flight tests in June 2025 at a facility in eastern Austria. Company specifications list a range of 50 kilometers, a top speed of 130 km/h and a payload capacity configured for two passengers or 200 kilograms of cargo. FlyNow says the aircraft has a noise footprint around 55 dB(A), comparable to a dishwasher, and projects operating costs in line with a ground taxi.

Regulatory progress to date includes SAIL II certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), a risk-based classification under the regulator’s Specific Category framework that permits only limited, lower-risk operations. FlyNow is actively working toward SAIL IV certification, which would enable the eCopter to enter commercial cargo service.

Commercial plan and local integration

FlyNow targets a commercial cargo rollout in 2027 and says passenger flights are not expected until the aircraft has accumulated more than one million kilometres of cargo operations. Riyadh will host the company’s next testing phase; FlyNow plans to fly the eCopter through the SALAAM.earth Automated Air Mobility sandbox, a testing environment that integrates aircraft, vertiports, air traffic management and digital infrastructure. FlyNow would be the first aircraft evaluated in that sandbox.

• First untethered tests: June 2025 (eastern Austria)
• Founded: Salzburg, Austria, 2019
• eCopter specs: 50 km range, 130 km/h top speed, 2 passengers or 200 kg cargo
• Noise footprint: ~55 dB(A)
• Regulatory status: SAIL II (working toward SAIL IV)
• Target commercial cargo rollout: 2027
• Passenger flights: after >1,000,000 km of cargo operations

The sandbox effort follows a May 2026 roundtable in Riyadh backed by the National Industrial Development Center, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, GACA, the Ministry of Interior and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority. FlyNow did not disclose the value of the FlyNow Arabia Ltd. acquisition that prompted the relocation.

Outlook

The Riyadh headquarters positions FlyNow to contribute to Saudi Vision 2030 goals of localizing advanced aviation technologies and building domestic industrial capabilities. The move also places FlyNow among a growing field of eVTOL developers engaging Saudi regulators: GACA has signed non-binding memoranda of understanding with several companies in recent months, including Vertical Aerospace (MoUs announced July 20, 2026), and has partnered with Boeing Saudi Arabia, KAUST and SkyGrid on an airspace feasibility study for automated operations. As FlyNow advances toward SAIL IV and its 2027 cargo target, regulators and industry partners in Saudi Arabia will be central to whether the company can scale pilotless eVTOL operations from testing to commercial service.