This is general information, not certification, legal, or buying advice. Check the manufacturer and the regulator.

How to read certification stage labels

Some company pages include a Certification line. That line is a directory label. It appears only when this catalog has a sourced stage for that program. Air Taxi Spot does not issue certificates, and a label is not a ticket, a seat, or an aircraft for sale.

If a company page has no Certification section, this catalog does not currently list a sourced stage. That gap is not a finding that the program is uncertified, and it is not a finding that it is certified.

What the phrases mean on this site

These are the exact phrases used as browse categories. The note beside each one is how this directory uses the phrase. It is not a legal definition from the regulator, and it does not add a milestone the words themselves do not state. Open a phrase to see every company that shares that tag.

  • CAAC type certified — The catalog has a sourced CAAC type-certificate milestone for that company.
  • CAAC cargo certified — A cargo program with a sourced CAAC certification claim.
  • FAA TC in progress — Sourced FAA type-certification work is underway. The label does not say the type certificate has been issued.
  • FAA Phase 3 closed — The company is tagged for reporting FAA Phase 3 closed on a path toward type certification. This site does not read that phrase as “type certificate issued.”
  • FAA TIA flight testing — Sourced Type Inspection Authorization flight testing. It is a stage label, not a statement that passenger service has started.
  • FAA Part 23 TC applied — A Part 23 type-certification application is the sourced milestone. “Applied” is not the same as a certificate.
  • ANAC TC in progress — Sourced ANAC type-certification work is underway.
  • UK CAA / EASA SC-VTOL — The program is tagged for UK CAA oversight and/or EASA SC-VTOL framing.
  • JCAB certification plan agreed — A sourced JCAB certification-plan milestone. A plan agreement is not a finished type certificate.

A company can also carry an extra sourced chip that does not have its own category page. Eve Air Mobility is tagged both “ANAC TC in progress” and “EASA validation applied.” The second chip is only that tag. This site does not treat it as proof of passenger-service approval.

What a label does not claim

  • Labels from different authorities are not steps on one ladder. FAA, CAAC, ANAC, JCAB, UK CAA, and EASA names in these phrases are different regulators. “In progress,” “applied,” “plan agreed,” and “flight testing” are not the same statement as a finished type certificate.
  • A CAAC type-certificate milestone does not, by itself, describe approval in any other country.
  • Company status (Active, Paused, Defunct, and the other status pills) is separate from the certification label.
  • The label is not a ranking, and it is not a promise that a ride is on sale.

Examples of pages that show a directory label, and nothing beyond that label: Joby Aviation (label: “FAA TIA flight testing”), EHang (label: “CAAC type certified”), and Archer Aviation (label: “FAA Phase 3 closed”). The words in quotes are the tag on the page, not a finding by this site. Read the company summary, then the official site linked on that page, before you treat a stage as current.

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