Vertiport designer UrbanV and global engineering, management and development consultancy Mott MacDonald are to jointly identify and explore viable opportunities for project development worldwide in the AAM sector. They will assess the feasibility and scope of cooperation in relation to worldwide projects in the domain of airports, vertiports and AAM, and will jointly identify geographies and partnerships that will forward AAM across the globe in the next five years.

UrbanV is a company established by Aeroporti di Roma, SAVE Group, Aeroports de la Côte d'Azur and Aeroporto di Bologna, to launch AAM commercial networks starting from Rome, where it plans to enable the first route between Fiumicino airport and Rome's city centre by the end of 2024.

Mott MacDonald is an aviation consultancy providing services from master planning and business case development through to design, delivery management and business change. Its teams have worked with governments, investors, operators and airlines on projects at more than 250 airports worldwide, from small regional airfields to global hubs such as Singapore Changi, Istanbul, London Heathrow and New York JFK.

UrbanV CEO Carlo Tursi says: “At UrbanV, we aim to improve people's lives by enabling a fast, efficient, safe and clean alternative to existing transport solutions for people and goods over short distances, by air. We have the ambition to become a major global operator of vertiport networks, starting in Italy and France where we are working together with our founding shareholders to establish some of the first AAM routes worldwide. We are excited to partner with Mott MacDonald and we look forward to developing new opportunities together with it on a global scale.”

Mott MacDonald project principal Horacio Rossi adds: “With more than 40 years' experience in the aviation sector, delivering more than 1,000 projects, we are excited to now help realise the potential of AAM. Our team has experience of developing the strategic direction for vertiports, through to masterplans for its size, terminal buildings, energy centre, airfield layout, and safe and efficient operations, as well as crucial connections with other modes of transport. The potential for AAM is incredible, and we can't wait to work together with UrbanV to develop opportunities.”

Mott MacDonald is already working across the world on several AAM projects. It has developed a global vertiport playbook including the strategic concept, customer experience and designs of vertiport terminals. It has also supported a consortium planning a network of at least 25 vertiports in the UK, helping develop the concept of operations, design and engineering components.

The global advanced air mobility market size was valued at $8.93 billion in 2022 and is projected to be worth around $45.12 billion by 2030, according to a study by Precedence Research.