Urban-Air Port announces opening of Air-One eVTOL hub in Coventry, UK

Credit: Urban-Air Port

Urban-Air Port® (UAP) has announced the opening of ‘Air-One®’, a world-first demonstration of a fully-operational hub for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles – such as air taxis – and autonomous cargo drones, heralding a new age of zero-emission, low-congestion urban transport.

UAP – backed by the UK government and supported by Supernal – will operate Air-One in the heart of Coventry for at least one month and will provide a blueprint for more than 200 vertiports planned worldwide by Urban-Air Port over the next five years to meet growing demand.

Despite a booming market for advanced air mobility (AAM) and a strong pipeline of eVTOLs entering commercial operations this decade, the lack of ground infrastructure remains one of the single biggest barriers to growth, according to analysis by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Therefore, Air-One will demonstrate how purpose-built ground infrastructure can unleash the potential of AAM to decarbonise transport and cut air pollution and congestion, whilst providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries.

Ricky Sandhu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Urban-Air Port, said: “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. Cars have roads. Trains have rails. Planes have airports. Now, eVTOLs have an Urban-Air Port.”

Coventry to become home for new Urban Air Port

The UK Minister for Aviation, Robert Courts, said: “The opening of Air-One, backed by government funding, will revolutionise the way that 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.”

UAP is accelerating its plans to develop 200 vertiports worldwide, and the company’s order book for additional sites is growing, with vertiports already planned in the UK – in the West Midlands and London – and internationally in the U.S. (Los Angeles), Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Scandinavia and South East Asia.

Air-One will demonstrate aircraft command and control, eVTOL charging, cargo loading for unmanned drones and will host demonstrator flights. West Midlands Police and Skyfarer will be among the first to operate flights from the site, showcasing how UAP’s vertiports can provide drone bases for ‘sky protection’ and high-value cargo deliveries in the near future.

Coventry has been chosen for the site due to its location in the heart of the UK – with most parts of the country within four hours of travel – and its historic leadership in the automobile and aerospace industries. A series of public engagement events at Air-One will bring future air mobility to life for the public and form part of Coventry’s City of Culture celebrations.

Following the programme in Coventry in Summer 2022, UAP will redeploy Air-One to other locations in the UK and internationally to undertake a variety of demonstrations in different environments and settings, establishing the global standard for ground infrastructure.