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TheTFX.com
where there is no vision , the people perish
TheTFX.com
VPorts has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ras Al Khaimah Airport to build and operate a vertiport.
‘‘With the support of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al Khaimah, we are excited to build and operate the first vertiport at Ras Al Khaimah Airport.
"This project will enable all AAM (advanced air mobility) partners to accelerate the adoption and deployment of advanced air mobility in RAK and throughout the United Arab Emirates," said Dr. Fethi Chebil of VPorts.
The initiative moved a step closer with the opening of a dedicated vertiport at Pontoise Aerodrome in Paris in November.
"I want the first passenger flight in an Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft to be in our region," said Valérie Pécresse, president of Ile-de-France region, which helped pay for the vertiport.
AirNova intends to build a network of vertiports in France, perhaps beginning later this year.
AirNova is seeking to build as many as 20 vertiports per year, establishing a network within and between France’s main cities.
Volatus plans to build a vertiport near Pennsylvania State University.
Volatus says it will build a "public use FAA-compliant" eVTOL vertiport at Bellefonte Airport near Penn State. The vertiport is expected to be operational later this year.
"A project that started out as a way to get fans to Penn State games without sitting in traffic ... has turned into what will become the center of an eVTOL ecosystem for the East Coast," said Grant Fisk, Volatus' co-founder.
"Bellefonte Airport is within 90 miles of all the major cities so it just makes sense to expand this location which will lay the foundation for the eVTOL infrastructure ecosystem for the East Coast.”
Lift has trialed its single-seater eVTOL over a park in Osaka, the first time in Japan an eVTOL has been piloted from the cockpit.
The test was overseen by Marubeni, one of the five companies selected to operate flying taxis at the Osaka Expo in 2025.
This will be the first time a varied selection of eVTOL aircraft are shown to the world.
Skyports is planning the phased rollout of a multi-nodal vertiport network across Los Angeles.
The company is partnering with LAZ Parking to deploy vertiports throughout the L.A. basin and surrounding communities "to enable intra-urban aerial transport at scale."
Skyports says that other cities will follow.
UrbanV has unveiled the vertiport it built in Rome, as it looks to support the establishment of a fully-fledged ecosystem in Italy.
The infrastructure project at Rome Fiumicino Airport was developed in collaboration with Aeroporti di Roma, which owns UrbanV.
SkyScape is partnering with Plana to develop the first eVTOL route between Japan and South Korea.
Plana’s hybrid aircraft has a range of up to 500 km plus reserve, opening access to previously unreachable locations.
Recently, Volatus signed with Plana to work together on vertiport development and integration of eVTOL operations.
Orlando's new vertiport at Lake Nona will be a hub for a Florida-wide urban and regional air mobility network.
It is being built in partnership with the City of Orlando and Germany's Lilium, and provides the opportunity to connect more than 20 million Floridians within a 186-mile radius, serving cities including Tampa.
Coventry City Council, said: "[An] innovation that we’ve started to explore is the engagement of flying drones. This involves developing eVTOL infrastructure in an urban environment, using drones for transporting passengers."
"Coventry City Council is one of the first authorities in the world to have a vertiport displayed in the city."
The vertiport is the result a partnership between the city of Coventry, the UK Government, Hyundai Motor Group's eVTOL division Supernal, and Urban-Air Port Limited.
A large, dense, high-income city, such as New York or London, will need 20 to 30 vertiports, according to McKinsey & Company.
Medium-size cities such as Atlanta, Dallas or Denver might require 10 to 18 vertiports.
Just one eVTOL operator could operate 20,000 flights a day. By comparison, Southwest Airlines averages 2,900 domestic flights a day.
Most eVTOL aircraft would fly short routes between downtowns and nearby airports or cities.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released an updated blueprint for airspace to accommodate air taxis.
Air taxis are expected to fly in corridors between major airports and vertiports in city centers.
The operational blueprint is a key step in the FAA's effort to support this next era of aviation.
Australia’s first vertiport for eVTOL aircraft will be built in Melbourne at Caribbean Park.
Skyportz is leading the project in association with Contreras Earl Architects, To70Aviation, and Arup.
Caribbean Park will be the first in a network of Australian vertiports, with Skyportz said to be looking closely at Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney.
The Air Mobility Initiative (AMI) s working to making air passenger transportation within and between Germany's cities a reality. It brings together 30 partners led by Airbus and supported by the State of Bavaria and the German Federal Government.
“Our objective is to fly passengers from Munich Airport to Ingolstadt, about 65 km away," says Airbus. "The vertiports will be integrated into existing airports, and also into city environments."
Ferrovial Vertiports has appointed Kevin Costello as Senior Vice President of business development for the Northeast. Costello will lead the development of the vertiport network across the East Coast, initially focused on New York and New Jersey.
Ferrovial Vertiports is developing series of agnostic vertiports networks across the U.S. and Europe that will support eVTOL’s.
"It is a tremendous opportunity to help usher in a new era of transportation by developing the infrastructure that will support the future of urban mobility," Costello said.
Host site for the 2023 Air Taxi World Congress from October 2–5 is San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
The Air Taxi World Congress brings together the main players in advanced air mobility (AAM) craft, infrastructure, tech, and investment activity.
A Vertical Airshow on the last day will feature a lineup of air taxis and other eVTOL vehicles.
Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued new guidance for stakeholders on what aspects they should consider to operate VTOL aircraft from bespoke vertiport facilities or existing aerodromes.
EHang is partnering with Monarch Holding to build and operate air taxis in the United Arab Emirates.
The partners will establish the first manufacturing facility in the Middle East and North Africa, set up a command-and-control center and build vertiports.
“The need for quality vertiports is huge,” said Andrew Charlton of Aviation Advocacy.
According to new figures released by Alton Aviation Consultancy, more than $8 billion has been raised by major AAM manufacturers and 12,000 orders have been placed by customers spanning the globe.
A drone taxi service is to pilot in Seoul next year.
Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MoLIT) are set to announce the 'K-UAM (Urban Air Transportation) Grand Challenge demonstration program'.
Vertihubs will be installed in Gimpo Airport and the city's Jamsil district.
Locations for vertiports will be announced in the second half of this year.
There are 3 main business models which eVTOL service operators are focusing on, and the most effective vertiport operators will need to be agnostic to support all of them.
Intra-city: This business model will serve commuters traveling across large cities and their surrounding neighborhoods on short routes of up to 30 miles (50 km).
Intra-airline: This model is point-to-airline travel of up to 100 miles (150 km). This would offer passengers significantly reduced journey times, such as between an airline hub and metropolitan area not served by traditional air-service operations.
Inter-city: This model offers routes between 30 to 200 miles (50 to 300 km) benefiting passengers with considerable time savings where there are no existing connections by air or other transportation modes.
Carlo Tursi, the CEO of UrbanV, has outlined plans to extend the company’s vertiport network beyond Italy.
Following the launch of the Rome vertiport, the plan is to expand to Venice and Bologna – before venturing into France by establishing a vertiport in Nice.
"We expect to activate the first AAM routes by the end of 2024," Tursi said.
Now anyone with a spare $495,000 can buy an eVTOL (electric vehicle take-off and landing aircraft) for private use.
LIFT Aircraft says its planned network of vertiports guarantee that HEXA eVTOL buyers gain access to multiple locations to hangar, recharge, and fly their electric aircrafts.
"There are multiple ways to own, including a leaseback/rental program that can offset much, if not all, of your cost of ownership," the company states.
"With a $5,000 refundable deposit, you will experience the magic of electric, vertical flight before finalizing your purchase."
Aéroports de Paris has lifted the veil on air taxi services at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics—revealing that a ride between a Vertiport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport will cost $119.
AdP is developing air taxi services for the Olympics with Volocopter and Skyports.
"We’ll be selling several thousands of tickets at reasonable prices," said Augustin de Romanet, CEO of AdP.
EHang has released an image of the vertiport planned for the city of Hezhou in China.
Four landing pads on the roof allow four eVTOLs to take-off/land simultaneously.
Spanning 27,000 sq. ft. (2,500 sq. m.), the vertiport's terminal building includes a reception hall, passenger waiting area, and departure/arrival zone.
EHang is partnering with Xiyu Tourism Development Co., Ltd. on various tourist flying routes in the region, utilizing up to 120 eVTOLs.