Coventry to open world's first airport for electric aircraft
Known as ‘Air One’, the pop-up airport in Coventry will be the world’s first to showcase flying taxis and drones. The site is scheduled to open in the North of the city in November and will be located close to the Ricoh Arena.
Air One will have the potential to decarbonise transport, reduce air pollution and congestion. This is seen to be the first of many iterations, with aims to develop up to 200 more sites in the future to meet global demand.
Urban Air Port, the subsidiary of sustainable tech company Small (Six Miles Across London Limited), with Hyundai, also supporting the project as part of its plan to commercialise its own electric aircraft by 2028.
Ricky Sandhu, founder and executive chairman of Urban Air Port stated
“Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs (electric vehicle take-off and landing aircraft) will need Urban Air Ports. Over a hundred years ago, the world’s first commercial flight took off, creating the modern connected world. Urban Air Port will improve connectivity across our cities, boost productivity and help the UK to take the lead in a whole new clean global economy”
The site will help the public understand the new technology with live demonstrations of remote aircraft command and control; charging and refuelling; and cargo and passenger loading for manned and unmanned eVTOL aircraft operating in passenger air taxi services, autonomous logistics, and disaster emergency management.
The airport will be around 60 percent smaller than a heliport, with a design that allows for it to be easily dismantled and moved to other sites.
Pamela Cohn, the chief operating officer for the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group added:
“As we advance our eVTOL aircraft programme, development of supporting infrastructure is imperative. Air-One is a unique project that is set to help lead the way in developing a robust, accessible, and intermodal infrastructure network for future mobility”
She continued:
“We are excited to be part of this partnership in the UK and look forward to working together to create community impact and opportunity through safe, affordable, and human-centered mobility solutions.”
Along with Hyundai’s investment, the project had been awarded a £1.2 million grant from UK research and £125 million from the Industry Strategy Challenge Fund.
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