Beta Technologies receives federal certification for electric ALIA aircraft

Certificate allows customer flights to gather marketing survey data

Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based aircraft manufacturer, has received federal certification to fly potential customers aboard its ALIA eVTOL, an all-electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically. The approval, detailed in a Federal Aviation Administration press release and reported on October 23, 2026, allows the aircraft to be flown with participants and operators in order to gather data for marketing surveys. The approval marks a new step toward commercial operations.

The certificate applies to Beta’s ALIA. In a written statement provided to VTDigger, a Beta spokesperson said, “This is a critical milestone for Beta,” and added, “We’re focused on consistent, safe flying, and we’re excited to bring an aircraft designed, manufactured and tested in Vermont to the people and places that will put it to work.”

The scope of what the certificate allows is specific. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s press release, it permits the ALIA to be flown with participants and operators in order to gather data for marketing surveys — customer and operator flights with the data collected for marketing purposes. Frank Cioffi, president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, said the certification would allow the planes to take off and land at commercial airports. The Federal Aviation Administration’s release described the scope of the certificate, while Cioffi described where the aircraft will be able to operate.

The authorization is a Special Airworthiness Market Survey Certificate, which the FAA press release described as the first of its kind. Cioffi called it a milestone for Beta Technologies and said, “It basically proves that the FAA believes in the safety and the construction and the viability of this aircraft to be landing in commercial airports.”

Beta Technologies is an aerospace and defense company based in Burlington. It designs and sells electric aircraft as well as electric charging systems, components and propulsion systems for aircraft. The company has a global customer base and employs almost 1,400 workers as of June 2026, according to past VTDigger reporting. The company created the ALIA aircraft family, which consists of two different types of electric aircraft: the ALIA CTOL and the ALIA eVTOL.

Cioffi said all-electric planes could open new economic possibilities for industries ranging from medevac companies to special cargo companies. He said the cost of flights could potentially be mitigated by electric models. Cioffi also said the ability to take off and land vertically would provide more flexibility in transporting the aircraft.

The certificate is part of the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program, or eIPP, announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy last September. The program allowed eight different project areas to begin testing advanced air mobility aircraft. According to the release, the projects involve various state partners and aircraft manufacturers and include urban air taxi services and emergency medical response operations.

The original announcement said advanced air mobility aircraft models could improve road congestion, improve emergency services and medical transport, and help connect rural communities to urban areas.

Beta Technologies completed its first flight under the certification from Plattsburgh to Burlington, according to a company spokesperson. The spokesperson said, “Next we’ll be flying with operators and key stakeholders so they can experience the aircraft firsthand.”

The certificate is therefore a purpose-built authorization rather than a general one, and the next task is the one the press release describes: flying potential customers and operators and gathering marketing survey data under a federal certificate. Cioffi said the planes would also be allowed to take off and land at commercial airports. Commercial operations lie beyond what the certificate authorizes.

The practical change is that Beta no longer needs to wait on the paperwork required to carry people. The people the ALIA will carry for now are potential customers and operators on flights designed to gather marketing survey data, a step short of the commercial operations the approval points toward.

The next phase is defined in the terms the Federal Aviation Administration used: potential customers and operators aboard and marketing survey data gathered along the way. Cioffi said the aircraft would also be allowed to take off and land at commercial airports. From here the work sits with Beta Technologies — flying the aircraft, collecting the data its certificate calls for, and moving the program toward commercial operations.

The report, by Emma White, was originally published by VTDigger and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.