Sandhu said “The opening of Air-One in Coventry, central England, is momentous for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles such as air taxis and autonomous cargo drones.”
— Ricky Sandhu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Urban-Air Port
Ricky Sandhu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Urban-Air Port and also a proud Indian-origin entrepreneur is gung ho about futuristic transport. Recently, UK’s first mini-airport or vertiport for public demonstrations was opened.
Sandhu said the opening of Air-One in Coventry, central England, was momentous for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles such as air taxis and autonomous cargo drones. A PTI report stated that Air-One, which was open for demonstrations in Coventry until the middle of May, was expected to provide a blueprint for more than 200 vertiports planned worldwide by Urban-Air Port over the next five years.
“The opening of Air-One is a momentous moment – 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,” said Sandhu.
“Cars have roads. Trains have rails. Planes have airports. Now, eVTOLs have an Urban-Air Port. From design, through to fabrication and now into operation, Urban-Air Port has delivered Air-One in just 15 months, setting the standard for deployment globally and opening up a world of possibilities for rapid response air mobility,” he said.
“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 leveling up opportunities in the Midlands”.
— Robert Courts, UK Minister for Aviation
Sandhu went on to say that “Air-One is just the first model in our infrastructure fleet and our order book is not only open but already growing. The interest is turning into recognition of the need for our technology and into demand.”
Urban-Air Port has the backing of the UK government and is supported by Hyundai’s Supernal, a US-based smart vehicles service provider. The airport has been designed to demonstrate how purpose-built ground infrastructure can unleash the potential of advanced air mobility (AAM) to decarbonise transport and cut air pollution and congestion, whilst providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries.
Robert Courts, UK Minister for Aviation, said that 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 leveling up opportunities in the Midlands”.
Although there is a growing demand for eVTOLs entering commercial operations this decade, there is a lack of ground infrastructure. In fact, according to an analysis by NASA, the lack of infrastructure has been one of the biggest barriers to growth.
Urban-Air Port has plans to develop 200 similar “vertiports” worldwide. It has vertiports already planned in the UK in the West Midlands and London, and internationally in the United States (Los Angeles), Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and southeast Asia. “Air-One serves as a valuable, tangible asset to helping build stakeholder confidence and trust in emerging mobility technology and supporting systems,” said Mike Whitaker, Chief Commercial Officer of Supernal.
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, reportedly the first time a drone of this size has flown in such a dense and built-up urban environment.
Acting as a single solution to support the uptake of zero-emissions transport, Air-One will also host charging infrastructure for other modes of electric transport, including electric vehicles from some of the world’s biggest and most well-known automotive brands to “seamlessly integrate low carbon transport”.
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