Urban-Air Port, the UK-based developer of ground infrastructure for autonomous delivery drones and air taxis, has opened Air-One, a world-first demonstration of a fully-operational hub for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles.
Urban-Air Port – backed by the UK government and supported by US-based mobility service provider Supernal – will operate Air-One in the heart of Coventry for at least one month. Air-One aims to provide a blueprint for more than 200 vertiports planned worldwide by Urban-Air Port over the next five years to meet growing demand.
West Midlands Police and Skyfarer will be among the first to operate flights from the site, showcasing how Urban–Air Port’s vertiports can provide drone bases for “sky protection” and high-value cargo deliveries in the near future. Flights of large cargo drones will also be demonstrated by UK-based drone developer, Malloy Aeronautics – the first time a drone of this size has flown in such a dense and built-up urban environment.
Air-One will also work to demonstrate how purpose-built ground infrastructure can unleash the potential of advanced air mobility to decarbonise transport and cut air pollution and congestion, whilst providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries through the use of air taxis and autonomous cargo drones.
Minister for aviation, Robert Courts, said: “British innovation has a rich history of transforming global transportation, from the creation of the railroads in the 1800s, to the growth of great British brands such as Jaguar, Triumph and Rover in the 1950s.
“The opening of Air-One, backed by government funding, will revolutionise the way people and goods travel across the nation. This step forward puts Britain at the vanguard of clean transport, bringing investment and high-skilled, green job opportunities to the nation, while levelling up opportunity in the Midlands.”
