New eVTOL aircraft could start operating air taxi services as soon as 2025, and the race is on to certify aircraft under development by multiple companies worldwide. At the same time, this nascent industry faces a huge challenge to provide the extensive infrastructure that will allow this new form of air transportation to transform the way people and things move around.
Companies and cities are intently focused on this advanced air mobility ecosystem, which includes vertiports that will allow aircraft to take off and land in locations other than just airports. Electric charging stations will be needed. And somehow the new aircraft, which eventually may operate autonomously, must be safely integrated into airspace used by conventional aircraft.
To gauge what it will take to make this happen, AIN convened a panel of experts from companies engaged in this important work, including Supernal, Beta Technologies, Skyports, and Ferrovial Vertiports, as well as Rolls-Royce, which sponsored the roundtable discussion.