The Air One facility opening this month at Coventry in the UK’s Midlands region will provide a glimpse of an inventive approach to accommodating operations by eVTOL aircraft and drones in urban areas. Vertiport developer Urban-Air Port is conducting the project in partnership with Hyundai’s advanced air mobility subsidiary Supernal, and beginning April 28, members of the public will have the opportunity to see for themselves what the future of transportation might look like.
In an event that will run through May 15, the companies intend to demonstrate how the Air One vertiport would work. This will involve showcasing features such as passenger taxi processing, disaster emergency management security, charging infrastructure, logistics, command and control, and food and beverage and retail opportunities.
Supernal will display a model of the four-passenger SA-1 eVTOL design it plans to bring to market in 2028. There will also be demonstrations of drone flights by Malloy, Skyfarer, and the West Midlands Police.
The Air One facility in Coventry, a city with strong connections to the automotive industry, is one of 65 vertiports that Urban-Air Port plans to develop. The project received around $1.6 million in funding from the UK government-backed FutureFlight Challenge and is also supported by the Coventry City Council.