Metro Aviation has been flying BETA Technologies’ all-electric ALIA CTOL aircraft on medical and disaster-response missions in North Carolina under the FAA and US Department of Transportation’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The campaign, launched with NCDOT and healthcare partners ECU Health and WakeMed, is using routes linked to Raleigh Executive Jetport, Pitt-Greenville Airport and communities served by Dare County Regional Airport.
BETA began the operations on 17 September and has since covered more than 1,300 nautical miles, including simulated deliveries of healthcare cargo to rural medical access points and a flyover of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The programme is designed to test whether electric aircraft can move supplies and care teams faster and at lower cost between regional medical centres and smaller communities.
The North Carolina work also uses BETA’s Charge Cube infrastructure at Raleigh Executive Jetport, installed in 2024, alongside a wider charging network under development in the state. Metro Aviation’s role is to help assess where electric aircraft can complement existing air-medical operations, with the campaign aimed at future missions involving supplies, clinicians and potentially patients.