Urban-Air Port, the UK-based developer of ground infrastructure for air taxis and autonomous delivery drones, has opened the doors of Air-One, a demonstration, fully-operational hub for eVTOL vehicles. The company is backed by the UK Government and supported by Hyundai Motor Group's urban air mobility division Supernal.

“The opening of Air-One is a momentous occasion, 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,” says Urban-Air Port founder and executive chairman Ricky Sandhu. “Cars have roads. Trains have rails. Planes have airports. Now, eVTOLs have an Urban-Air Port.”

Air-One will offer one month of operations in the heart of Coventry, a site chosen for its wealth of automobile and aerospace history as well as its location in the heart of the UK where most parts of the country are within four hours journey time.

It will provide a blueprint for more than 200 vertiports planned across the globe over the next five years. Urban-Air Port's order book is growing, and vertiports are already planned in the UK in the West Midlands and London, and internationally in Los Angeles, Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Scandinavia and south east Asia.

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

The vertiports are designed to be highly flexible, catering to four different markets: passenger air taxis; autonomous delivery drones; disaster emergency management and defence operations; and logistics. They can even be deployed at short notice to enable drones and other eVTOL aircrafts to collect and transport emergency supplies, equipment and people in disaster situations such as floods or earthquakes, and can be operated completely off-grid using an on-site hydrogen fuel cell.

Growth in the advanced air mobility (AAM) market is forecast at nine per cent annually, reaching $1 trillion within the next two decades. Despite a booming market and a strong pipeline of eVTOLs entering commercial operations this decade, NASA analysis suggests that the lack of ground infrastructure remains one of the single biggest barriers to growth. Air-One will demonstrate how purpose-built ground infrastructure can unleash the potential of AAM to decarbonise transport and cut air pollution and congestion, while providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries.

“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,” adds Sandhu. “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.”

The 17,000 sq ft radial hub was erected in 11 weeks and is divided into fully outfitted zones including a passenger lounge, café, retail pop-up, cargo logistics hub, electric and hydrogen air vehicle hangar, security screening and command and control centre. The zones are anchored by a patented 56 ft circular final approach and take off (FATO) platform that rises 19 ft in the sky using a compact, synchronised link-lift system to enable future electric air vehicle take offs and landings.

Since 2020, Supernal and Urban-Air Port have been working together to support future AAM operations related to building infrastructure networks, designing physical prototypes and shaping operational procedures. The activation also features Supernal's initial concept eVTOL S-A1, for which commercial service is planned for 2028; live drone demonstrations from the FATO; and several new electric vehicles connected to EV chargers on the vertiport's exterior that are powered by off-grid hydrogen fuel cells.

Located 0.2 miles from main Coventry rail and bus stations, the activation demonstrates how the compact, prefabricated Air-One can enable seamless multi-modal travel, including AAM.

"The Air-One activation is an important step for the advanced air mobility industry and demonstrates how eVTOLs can easily integrate with existing transportation networks to address local needs," says Supernal CCO Mike Whitaker. "The reality is no single mode of transportation, current or future, can solve cities' traffic and congestion challenges. Supernal is working with partners like Urban-Air Port to design infrastructure that brings multiple modes of transportation together under one roof and enable AAM to reach its full potential.

“Air-One serves as a valuable, tangible asset in helping to build stakeholder confidence and trust in emerging mobility technology and supporting systems. The Coventry demonstration is an important first step forward to reimagining how people across the world will move, connect and live. Developing a scalable system to support advanced air mobility operations requires collaboration from all industries and corners of the world. Supernal's support of Urban-Air Port reinforces our belief in fusing technology and innovation to enable humanity and society to reach new levels of potential.

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 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, 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 automotive brands, to seamlessly integrate low carbon transport. A series of public engagement events at Air-One will also bring future air mobility to life for the public and form part of Coventry's City of Culture celebrations.

“British innovation has a rich history of transforming global transportation, from the creation of the railroads in the 1800s to the growth of great British brands such as Jaguar, Triumph and Rover in the 1950s," says UK Minister for Aviation Robert Courts. "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 levelling up opportunity in the Midlands.”

Urban-Air Port will generate revenue through an infrastructure-as-a-service model, enabling customers to decide the level of service they require. This can include simply purchasing Urban-Air Port infrastructure, through to a full-service offering that includes site-specific design development and ongoing operations and maintenance. And in order to demonstrate the potential of non-aeronautical revenue streams to support a rapid global roll out, the company has partnered with retail and food and beverage brands Anatomie, Bottega SpA, Eurest (part of Compass Group), LG Business Solutions, Mother and Paul & Shark under a new brand, Urban-Air Choice.