Summary
- Urban air mobility will be a major focus in 2024, with the Summer Olympics in Paris and planned air taxi launches.
- Skyportz CEO believes waterfront locations are the most practical for vertiports due to safety and aviation requirements.
- Melbourne’s existing heliport may be replaced with a purpose-built vertiport to accommodate electric air taxis, leading the way in decarbonizing aviation.
Next year looms as a crunch year for urban air mobility when all eyes will be on Paris for the Summer Olympics as well as its planned air taxi launches. Many eVTOL manufacturers have pinned their hopes on a 2024 launch, which is also whetting the appetite of those looking at developing vertiports.
Vertiports are best by the water
In Australia, Melbourne-based Skyportz has been at the forefront of this field for the last five or more years and worked with the Victorian State Government when the city was nominated as a launch site for Uber’s foray into air taxis. Today, in association with its partners Contreras Earl Architecture and Pascall+ Watson Architects, Skyportz is releasing its latest concept at the AIRTAXI World Congress 2023 in San Francisco.
Photo: Skyportz
Skyportz CEO Clem Newton-Brown said that after developing designs and concepts for vertiports for five years, he keeps coming back to waterfronts being the most practical to retrofit for cities for Advanced Air Mobility.
“The reality is that waterfront sites provide the safest access for electric air taxis in terms of aviation requirements for clear approach and departure paths. Paris has five vertiports proposed for the Olympics and the one new vertiport they have chosen is to be on the river. This aligns with our thinking that when cities need to actually choose vertiport locations the lowest hanging fruit will be the waterfront locations.”
Melbourne is bisected by a river and the city’s existing heliport is located on the banks, right on the edge of the central business district. The Skyportz proposal is to replace that outdated heliport with a new, purpose-built vertiport to accommodate the introduction of clean, quiet, electric air taxis. It would also be a hub for electric scooters, bikes, ferries and hire boats, enabling air taxi passengers to continue their commute to work or visit Melbourne.
Image: Skyportz
Newton-Brown believes that the key to the air taxi industry is breaking the nexus between aviation and existing airports and that a network of new vertiport sites will need to be developed if the industry is to reach its full potential. With its close proximity to the city center, tourism and hospitality venues and major sporting arenas the current heliport is an ideal location, particularly as it comes with existing helicopter permissions.
Transition to electric aircraft
The operator of the Melbourne Heliport is helicopter charter company Microflite, which has already placed orders for electric aircraft to transform its fleet of traditional helicopters over the next five years or so. Chief Operating Officer Rod Higgins said:
“There is no doubt that helicopters will soon be phased out in tourism and short commuter flights and Microflite wants to lead the way in decarbonising aviation as soon as electric aircraft are certified for commercial use. Of the many thousands of passengers and tourists that Microflite flies from its Melbourne Heliport each year, an increasing number are asking when the aviation industry will be progressing to sustainable operations.”
San Francisco International Airport hosts the AIRTAXI World Congress 2023 from today until Friday and is the only event entirely dedicated to air taxis and urban eVTOLs. It brings together suppliers, OEMs, investors, operators, airlines, airports and vertiports and infrastructure stakeholders.
The event’s last day, October 5, is reserved for the AIRTAXI Vertical Airshow, featuring an extensive lineup of air taxis and UAVs, including live demos of vertical take-offs & landings by leading eVTOL manufacturers.