World’s first urban airport in Coventry now dismantled

THE world’s first Urban-air Port which was based in Coventry has now gone.

The city saw construction start in February as the centre was built on Warwick Road in a car park next to Central Six’s Burger King.

The operational vertiport focused on air taxis and gave people the opportunity to see how drones could help West Midlands Police tackle crime.

Free tours were available to go to and visitors could see the latest drone technology.

But now it has been dismantled after Coventry City Council said it was always going to be a temporary project and the site has returned to its former state.

The decision to have it based here in the first place came after Urban-air Port Limited (UAP) identified the West Midlands as an ideal place to begin developing and with Coventry’s history, it made the most sense.

Councillor Jim O’boyle, Cabinet Member for jobs, regeneration and climate change, said the city council are continuously working on “de-carbonising projects” to help change the future of transport.

“The Urban-air Port was a temporary project designed to show the positive impact that Urban Airports will have on residents, transport and the environment,” he added.

“It was a brilliant world first for Coventry and it gave us a real glimpse of the way future transport might shape up.

“We are continuing to work with a number of partners on a range of decarbonising transport projects including Coventry Very Light Rail, plans for a Gigafactory and more on-street electric charge points which are all helping us to lead the green industrial revolution.”

Founder of the Urban-air Port, Ricky Sandhu, has said he’s “convinced” it will return to Coventry though. Made up of a round open-air landing strip surrounded by a doughnut-shaped ‘hangar’ the futuristic hub - called Airone and developed by London based start-up Urban-air Port - sparked excitement among locals.

He previously said: “I think it’s gone really well. We’ve had over 10,000 people come through here in these three weeks.

“Everyone that we have spoken to, particularly the public, has been hugely excited and supportive.”