I still remember the first time I read about air taxis and thought it sounded like science fiction. Today, the Air Taxi Revolution feels real. India has just announced its first ‘Sarla Aviation Sky Factory’ — a giga-scale campus meant to build electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. In this post, I’ll walk you through what the Sky Factory is, why it matters, and how it could turn hours of road travel into minutes.
What is the Sarla Aviation Sky Factory?
The Sky Factory is a big manufacturing and testing campus planned by Sarla Aviation. It was announced in a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the CII Partnership Summit on Nov 18, 2025. The campus will be in Thimmasamduram, Kalyanadurg mandal, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. Phase‑1 covers 150 acres and the project can expand to about 500 acres.
The company plans to make eVTOLs like their hybrid model named Shunya, plus many parts such as composites, wiring harnesses, and landing gear. Sarla was founded in 2023 and is backed by investors like Accel. The state agency APADCL is a key partner for the project.
Quick Project Facts
To help you see the main points at a glance, here’s a simple project table.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total planned investment | ₹1,300 crore (Phase‑1: ₹330 crore) |
| Location | Thimmasamduram, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh |
| Area (Phase‑1 / full) | 150 acres / up to 500 acres |
| Planned capacity | Up to 1,000 eVTOLs per year |
| Key facilities | Production lines, R&D, composite labs, 2‑km runway, VTOL pads, wind tunnel |
| Timeline | MoU Nov 2025; manufacturing by ~2027; target commercial ops ~2029 |
How this builds the Air Taxi Revolution
When I say “Air Taxi Revolution,” I mean a big change in how we move inside cities and between nearby cities. Here’s why the Sky Factory matters:
- Local manufacture: Making eVTOLs in India lowers costs and helps build a local supply chain. This makes air taxis cheaper and easier to scale.
- Volume: A capacity of up to 1,000 aircraft a year signals serious production, not a few prototypes.
- Testing and certification: The campus has a 2‑km runway and VTOL test pads. That speeds testing and helps with certifications needed to fly commercially.
If you live in a congested metro or a busy corridor between cities, this could cut travel times from hours to minutes. For example, a road trip that takes 3–4 hours could become a 15–30 minute air taxi hop, once corridors and vertiports exist.
Facilities, R&D and the local ecosystem
I like that the Sky Factory is more than just assembly lines. It will include R&D labs, composite manufacturing, pilot training, MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), and reportedly India’s largest wind tunnel. That matters because eVTOLs rely heavily on new composite parts and advanced aerodynamics.
Here are concrete points on facilities:
- Wind tunnel: Helps test designs faster and at lower cost.
- Composite labs: Allow local production of light, strong parts used in eVTOLs.
- Pilot training and MRO: Builds the skills and services needed to operate a safe air taxi network.
All of this will encourage MSMEs to join the aerospace supply chain. I expect many small firms around the site to make parts, do testing, or provide services.
Timeline, certification and real‑world challenges
There’s real excitement, but also real hurdles. The MoU was signed in November 2025. The Andhra Pradesh government expects manufacturing to start within about two years (around 2027). Sarla targets commercial operations around 2029.
But manufacturing is only one piece. For the Air Taxi Revolution to reach you, we need:
- Certification: Aviation authorities must certify aircraft and pilots. That can take time.
- Infrastructure: Vertiports, takeoff/landing corridors, and charging or fuel networks must be built.
- Regulation and safety rules: Air traffic rules for low-altitude urban flights must be clear.
Still, the plan to co-develop certification and UAM corridors with the state is a positive sign. It shows industry and government are coordinating early.
Jobs and economic impact
This project is not just about planes. It’s about people and jobs. Phase‑1 will create dozens of specialised roles quickly and many more later. The wider promise is thousands of high‑skill jobs over time across manufacturing, R&D, pilot training, maintenance, and supply chain services.
Here’s what to expect:
- Early roles in production and testing at the campus.
- Growth in aerospace MSMEs supplying parts and services.
- New career paths in urban air mobility (UAM) operations, air traffic management, and vertiport management.
For a real-world comparison, look at global eVTOL hubs in California and Munich. They grew around a mix of startups, investors, and local suppliers. If Sarla’s campus follows that pattern, Andhra Pradesh could become a major cluster in South India.
What this means for you and future flyers
If you travel often, the idea of turning a long car trip into a short air hop is exciting. But you should know that early services will be limited. Routes will first connect high-demand corridors and airports, then expand to more local trips.
As a passenger, you can expect benefits like:
- Much lower travel time on key routes.
- Quieter and cleaner trips compared with helicopters, thanks to electric propulsion.
- New choices for business travel and short regional hops.
However, ticket prices in the beginning may be premium until scale and competition bring costs down.
Also Read: KTM 390 Adventure & Adventure X Prices Increase by Up to ₹27,000 as GST Buffer Ends
Final Thoughts
The Air Taxi Revolution feels closer today because of the Sarla Aviation Sky Factory. With a planned investment of ₹1,300 crore, a Phase‑1 campus on 150 acres, and a target to produce up to 1,000 eVTOLs per year, this project is a big step for India’s urban air mobility dream. We will still need certification, infrastructure, and more testing before we can hop into air taxis regularly. But I’m optimistic. The combination of local manufacturing, R&D, and public‑private coordination gives India a real chance to lead in this new transport era.
If you want, I can watch for follow-ups like construction starts and regulatory approvals, or pull the original MoU and company quotes for verbatim detail. Which would you prefer — (a) regular updates, or (b) the original press and MoU text?
