Munich Airport and Urban-Air Port collaborate on eVTOL tech
Munich Airport and Urban-Air Port seek to demonstrate an ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, multi-functional operations hub for manned and unmanned vehicles
Munich Airport International (MUC) and Urban-Air Port (UAP) are partnering to develop eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) ground infrastructure and airport operations.
This partnership will combine the MUC’s airport knowledge and operational experience with UAP’s ground infrastructure technology and solutions. Each organization will provide a roadmap for efficient and sustainable flight operations, expected to be operational by the middle of the decade.
“We as Munich Airport International see great potential in this new mode of transportation and have developed an advanced air mobility program to actively shape the future,” said Dr. Ralf Gaffal, Munich Airport’s Managing Director. “Partnering with Urban-Air Port allows us to join forces in designing, implementing and operating scalable and sustainable urban-air ports around the world.”
Urban-Air Port, based in London, is currently deploying its “Air One” program — an airport for drones and eVTOL that connects air mobility with ground transportation in a multimodal hub. The airport is planned to be located in a downtown setting and will be presented to the public for the first time in Coventry, UK in Spring 2022.
An October 14 press release said the goal is to demonstrate an ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, multi-functional operations hub for manned and unmanned vehicles. Besides the “Air One” program, both organizations will collaborate on longer-term projects and opportunities, with an initial focus on use cases and markets which are expected to emerge in the next couple of years.
“This collaboration with Munich Airport International, the ‘5-Star Standard’ in airport operations, allows us to jointly develop our expertise in airport development and operations,” said Ricky Sandhu, Founder and Executive Chairman at Urban-Air Port. "Moreover, we can lay the foundations for a globally integrated urban air transport network."
