“The U.S. aims to accelerate the next era of aviation with eight pilot projects to test innovative electric aircraft across 26 states, the Trump administration announced Monday…

The approved projects announced Monday are part of the Trump administration’s Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program, or the eIPP.

The idea is to give U.S. companies an opportunity to test their operations in the real world, ahead of achieving final FAA certification of their aircraft. In essence, it’s a flying start for companies like Joby, Archer, Beta and five other U.S. aviation startups.

The projects include air taxi passenger flights in Manhattan, regional flights across Texas and cargo delivery and medical response in Florida.

Most of the projects involve the use of eVTOLs — imagine giant, low-flying electric drones carrying passengers or cargo — that take off like helicopters and fly horizontally like traditional planes.”

From Axios.

“Argentina recorded the highest percentage growth in air traffic in Latin America last year, with 33.3 million passengers travelling to, from and within the country.

The figure represents a 13.2 percent year-on-year increase, equating to some 3.9 million additional travellers, according to data released Tuesday by the Latin America and the Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA).”

From Buenos Aires Times.

“Southwest Airlines Co. is taking inflight connectivity to new heights with Starlink. Engineered by SpaceX, Starlink will deliver next-generation WiFi across Southwest’s network of 11 countries, allowing Customers to stream, share, and scroll in the sky at lightning-fast speeds…

Southwest plans to rapidly integrate Starlink into its fleet. The first Starlink-equipped aircraft enters service this summer, and it will be available on more than 300 aircraft by the end of 2026. This is a major step in the carrier’s plan to upgrade all its aircraft with high-speed, low-Earth-orbit satellite technology.”

From Southwest.

“Ranchers can spend hundreds of thousands per year moving cattle between fields. GrazeMate builds autonomous drone software to guide cattle – doing the work of helicopters and motorbikes with AI that understands animal behaviour.”

From Y Combinator.