Turin Offers Site For Advanced Air Mobility Development Hub

Italian start-up SkyGate aims to establish a hub for developing eVTOL aircraft and other advanced air mobility technology in Turin. The company, a subsidiary of avionics specialist DigiSky, is backed by former NASA astronaut and test pilot Maurizio Cheli.

Plans call for the redevelopment of the northern Italian city’s AeroClub Torino at the Torino Aeritalia Airport. Announcing the project on February 9, SkyGate did not publish a timeline for implementation but said that it will soon announce investors and partners, confirming that it has approached eVTOL aircraft developers (whose names it didn't disclose) about using the site for research and development work.

According to SkyGate, part of the attraction of the airport location is its proximity to the Politecnico of Turin, a university with a well-regarded aerospace engineering department. Also nearby is the city’s Cittadella dell’aerospazio aerospace business zone.

“SkyGate will offer business acceleration services for start-ups and scale-ups, creating fruitful synergies between enterprises, services, and academics,” said Carolo Caiffa, president of DigiSky’s parent company, Always. He said that the facility can be expected to attract further investment from other industry stakeholders and could serve as a springboard for wider plans to develop a network of air mobility services and infrastructure across Italy.

The AeroClub Torino, which has been in existence for more than a century, is urging local officials to extend the agreements under which it and other aviation organizations are permitted to use the site. The airfield is also home to a drone training company.