ANA, JAL Airlines and 3 others chosen to operate flying taxis for the Universal Expo 2025

ANA Holdings Inc., Japan Airlines Co. and three other companies have been selected to operate air taxi services during the 2025 World Expo to be held in Osaka, western Japan, the event organizer said on Tuesday.

Japan wants “flying cars” to be one of the main attractions at the expo, and next-generation mobility is expected to provide access to the event venue which will be set up on an artificial island in Osaka Bay.

ANA Holdings, the parent of All Nippon Airways Co., will partner with US startup Joby Aviation Inc., a company in which Toyota Motor Corp. has a stake. Other companies selected as operators are Aichi Prefecture-based SkyDrive Inc. and trading firm Marubeni Corp.

Naoki Okada, the minister in charge of World Expo 2025, said he hopes the technology will “wow” people around the world. He also called on the five companies to cooperate on demonstration flights before the start of the 184-day event.

The flying cars, which will carry two to five people each, will connect the three areas of the expo venue in Yumeshima, the Osaka city center and the nearby Kansai International Airport. Their flight paths, landing and takeoff areas will be determined.

ANA Holdings will operate a five-seat vertical takeoff and landing aircraft developed by Joby Aviation. In October, the California-based company applied for certification of its aircraft design for use in Japan.

JAL will operate two-passenger planes developed by German firm Volocopter GmbH, while Marubeni will operate five-seater planes created by Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd., a British company, after reserving delivery slots for 25 of them in January.

SkyDrive is looking to get a type certificate for its two-passenger jet, still under development, ahead of the show.

Meanwhile, the operator of the take-off and landing sites at the exhibition site in Yumeshima will be Orix Corp., according to the Japan Association for the World Expo 2025.

The World Expo 2025 will last from April 13 to October 13 under the theme “Designing the future society for our lives”.