Vermont-based aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies has received federal certification to fly potential customers aboard its ALIA eVTOL, an all-electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically.
The approval marks a new step toward commercial operations.
“This is a critical milestone for Beta,” according to a written statement from a Beta spokesperson provided to VTDigger. “We’re focused on consistent, safe flying, and we’re excited to bring an aircraft designed, manufactured and tested in Vermont to the people and places that will put it to work.”
The certificate will allow Beta’s model — the all-electric ALIA eVTOL aircraft — to be flown with participants and operators in order to gather data for marketing surveys, according to a press release from the Federal Aviation Administration. With this certification, the planes will be allowed to take off and land in commercial airports, according to Frank Cioffi, president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation.
If the process is successful, vertical take-off electric airplanes are one step closer to filling the horizon.
Beta Technologies, an aerospace and defense company based in Burlington, designs and sells electric aircraft as well as electric charging systems, components and propulsion systems for aircraft. The company has a global customer base, and employs almost 1,400 workers as of June 2026, according to past VTDigger reporting. The company created an aircraft family called ALIA aircraft, which consists of two different types of electric aircraft: the ALIA CTOL and the ALIA eVTOL.
The Special Airworthiness Market Survey Certificate — the first of its kind, according to the press release — is a milestone for Beta Technologies, Cioffi said.
“It basically proves that the FAA believes in the safety and the construction and the viability of this aircraft to be landing in commercial airports,” Cioffi said.
All-electric planes could open new economic possibilities for many different industries, Cioffi said, from medevac companies to special cargo companies. The cost of flights could potentially be mitigated by electric models, he said.
“And the ability to be able to take off and land in a vertical way just allows for so much more flexibility in the transportation of the plane as well,” Ciotti said.
The certificate is part of the eIPP program, or Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program, announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy last September, which allowed eight different project areas to begin testing advanced air mobility aircraft.
The projects include various state partners and aircraft manufacturers, and include everything from urban air taxi services to emergency medical response operations, according to the release.
These advanced air mobility aircraft models could improve road congestion, improve emergency services and medical transport, and help connect rural communities to urban areas, according to the original announcement.
Beta’s first flight under the certification went from Plattsburgh to Burlington, according to the Beta spokesperson.
“Next we’ll be flying with operators and key stakeholders so they can experience the aircraft firsthand,” the spokesperson said.
This story was originally published by VTDigger and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
