eIPP: What the Program Actually Does — and Why It Matters

The FAA recently announced the selected proposals for the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), naming eight lead programs spanning 26 states. This marks a transition point for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) in the United States—not toward broad deployment, but toward structured, real-world integration.

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The eIPP is designed as a federal integration program to enable limited AAM and eVTOL operations in defined environments, generate operational and safety data, and use that data to inform future FAA rulemaking and certification pathways. Unlike earlier initiatives, the program is not focused on demonstration alone—it is intended to operate as a bridge between testing and integration.

The FAA evaluated more than 30 proposals and selected eight based on several criteria, including the ability to generate regulatory-relevant data, the strength of public-private partnerships, the breadth of operational concepts, and the experience of participating teams.

Across the selected programs, use cases are grounded in current transportation and public-service needs. These include passenger transport, cargo and logistics, medical and emergency response, and autonomous operations. This aligns with broader federal priorities, which increasingly emphasize system integration, infrastructure readiness, and operational validation over standalone aircraft development.

The selected programs span 26 states, with clearly defined lead and participating roles across each region. As shown in the map below and reflected in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s announcement, these efforts are structured as multi-state systems rather than isolated site deployments.

Each selected program is led by a state, regional authority, or municipality, with additional participating states supporting corridor development, use case expansion, and operational testing.

The most important takeaway is not where AAM is being deployed—but how the federal government is structuring that deployment.

The clearest federal signal is that AAM competitiveness is no longer defined by individual site readiness—but by the ability to organize airports, operators, public agencies, infrastructure, and use cases into a coordinated operating system.

This represents a shift in how AAM progress should be measured. The question is no longer which location is most prepared in isolation, but which regions can create environments that generate meaningful operational insight for regulators while supporting real-world use cases.