Up, up and away .... first ‘flying taxi vertiport’ to be built in city
IT sounds like something from a futuristic sci-fi movie, but Coventry will be the first city in the UK to have a flying taxi hub, it has been revealed.
A British start-up has secured investment to fund
200 air taxi and drone hubs in 65 cities over the next five years.
Urban-Air Port (UAP) says the funds from Supernal, part of the Hyundai Motor Group, will help deliver ‘vertiports’ – the infrastructure for landing, recharging and taking off with fare-paying passengers.
The news precedes the April opening of the world’s first fully operational hub for so-called ‘electric vertical take-off and landing’ (eVTOLs), Air-One, in
Coventry city centre.
UAP says the vertiport sites will provide infrastructure to help enable mass adoption of eVTOL aircraft – which include cargo drones and air taxis – as public acceptance grows and will transform the way goods and people are transported in urban areas.
A UAP spokesman said: “We can’t give an exact investment figure as it is commercially sensitive. However, the investment is significant.
“Supernal’s strategic equity investment will give the company an undisclosed minority equity stake in Urban Air-Port and a seat on the company’s board.”
The world’s first fully operational hub for eVTOLs, Air-One, will open for public visitation in Coventry City Centre in April.
UAP says the demonstration will show how advanced air mobility (AAM) “can help unlock the potential of sustainable mobility and how the industry will work to help reduce congestion, cut air pollution and decarbonise transport”.
The investment is the first time a major eVTOL company has invested in an AAM ground infrastructure developer.
Supernal is developing its own eVTOL and plans to launch its first commercial flight in 2028. The company’s investment in the start-up will help support the development of UAP’s new “vertiport” models including the CityBox delivery drone hub, and expansion into new markets.
Ricky Sandhu, founder of Urban-Air Port, said: “Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs need Urban-Air Ports. Despite the unparalleled potential of eVTOL aircraft to revolutionise mobility, the importance of the ground infrastructure that enables them is too often overlooked.
“With Supernal’s investment and expertise and connection to Hyundai Motor Group, we can supercharge the rollout of sustainable, intermodal and scalable ground infrastructure that will unleash the future of advanced air mobility globally.”
Jaiwon Shin, chief executive of Supernal and president, Hyundai Motor Group, said:
“At Supernal, we are on a mission to transform how people and society move, connect and live. Therefore, it is essential we not only develop electric air vehicles, but also help shape the broader advanced air mobility market from the ground up.”