Verti-Go Initiative to Lead European Airspace Update

A new European consortium has been launched to help accelerate the integration of piloted eVTOLs and uncrewed cargo drones into airspace across the continent. Announced on July 21, Project Verti-Go—part of the European Union’s SESAR (Single European Sky Air traffic management Research) Joint Undertaking—aims to “enable an ecosystem” for these emerging airspace users. 

Consortium leader Honeywell Aerospace will be joined by 11 other partners, including air navigation providers, airports and technology companies, with the goal of enabling new types of aircraft to operate “safely at large scale within Europe’s existing airspace.” Two pathways – focusing on crewed eVTOL and remotely-piloted cargo drone operations – will be studied over the next three years, including digital simulation and real-world flight trials. 

The crewed element will enlist the help of UK eVTOL aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace, which will conduct demonstration flights between Malaga and Marbella in southern Spain. These are expected to take place in 2028. California-headquartered Odys Aviation will also serve as the project’s remotely operated cargo drone demonstration partner, using its Laila hybrid UAV.

“Project Verti-Go is Europe’s equivalent of the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in the U.S, bringing together industry, regulators and air navigation providers to develop that operational framework,” explained Vertical chief commercial and strategy officer Michael Cervenka. He added that collaboration between “trusted partners” is vital “to enable safe, seamless operations in an increasingly complex airspace.” 

For Honeywell senior technical manager Jolana Dvorská, integrating new aircraft types “into already busy airspace requires new procedures, new levels of automation and managing traffic.” With new platforms having already demonstrated their ability to fly, “the question… is how they can safely operate at large scale within Europe’s existing airspace,” she concluded.