Sweden’s Jetson Aero is now already offering personal eVTOL aircraft that can go upto 63 mph. Meanwhile, the UK has opened world’s first vertiport for flying taxis.
In the United Kingdom, the world’s inaugural vertiport for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, such as flying taxis and cargo drones, debuted, giving the general public a peek into the coming years of air mobility.
The vertiport in Coventry, England, was launched earlier this month by Urban-Air Port, a British firm that develops ground-based infrastructure for the eVTOL market.
Ricky Sandhu, the founder of Urban-Air port, called the vertiport’s inauguration a “momentous moment.”
“[This is] the starting gun for a new age of transport, an age of zero-emission, congestion-free travel between and within cities that will make people healthier, happier and more connected than ever before,” Sandhu said in a statement.
Mini airports with a passenger lounge, café, retail pop-up, and freight logistics hub will be the future of vertiports. There will also be an eVTOL hangar and a circular final approach and take-off platform at the facility.
“Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs will need Urban Air Ports. Over a hundred years ago, the world’s first commercial flight took off, creating the modern connected world. Urban-Air Port will improve connectivity across our cities, boost productivity and help the U.K. to take the lead in a whole new clean global economy,” he continued.
The popularity of vertiports is expanding over the world, including in the United States, Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, and Southeast Asia.
Over the next five years, Urban-Air Port plans to construct 200 vertiports in five different models: the Air One (as seen in Coventry), floating Marine One version, Resilience One (capable of being deployed rapidly for disaster relief or military operations), City Box (future post office), and Docks Box (drone operations for fulfillment centers).
Apart from eVTOLs transporting passengers to and from other vertiports, the Coventry facility is fully operational. This facility exemplifies what zero-emission, congestion-free mobility will look like in the future. Since incorporating flying taxis into aviation networks is a significant challenge for authorities, it could take many years or more for the UK and other countries to authorize eVTOLs for passenger usage.
Rather than waiting for the future, Sweden’s Jetson Aero is now offering personal eVTOL aircraft that can go at 63 mph.
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