Skyports and Linden Plan Heliport At Miami's Watson Island

Skyports Infrastructure and Linden Airport Services Corporation are advancing plans to develop a facility on Miami’s Watson Island that could be used by both helicopters and new eVTOL aircraft. The companies announced their partnership on Thursday.

A dedicated heliport on the site – with construction planned adjacent to the existing Miami Seaplane Base - has been over 20 years in the making. However, this process has been fraught with legal challenges and delays. 

According to the Linden group, which already operates the heliport in Linden, New Jersey, final occupancy permits are now being processed by authorities. The Miami venture is the latest in a prospective network of vertiports being developed by UK-based Skyport, which is already working on similar facilities across the Middle East, Europe and Asia. In the U.S, Skyports was selected to operate New York City’s Downtown Manhattan Heliport in late 2024, with similar eVTOL infrastructure to follow. 

Watson Island’s airport is situated minutes from downtown Miami and is the closest landing zone to Miami Beach. As such, Skyports believes its central location will provide “unmatched accessibility,” in and around the South Florida city.  

In December, California-based eVTOL aircraft manufacturer revealed its plans for a metropolitan Miami air taxi network, combining three major international airports with “several strategic general aviation airports in the area.”

Rival U.S. eVTOL developer Wisk also has its sites set on providing advanced air mobility services within the city, working with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department to identify optimal locations and assess vertiport infrastructure development requirements. UrbanLink, which is a prospective operator of the Alia eVTOL being developed by Beta Technologies, is also targeting the busy corridor between Miami and West Palm Beach.