The vertiport will include a compact passenger terminal. Credit: Skyports Infrastructure

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company Skyports Infrastructure has unveiled a first look at its first vertiport testbed in the UK after receiving planning permission for the project in Oxfordshire. 

The vertiport, developed with Vertical Aerospace, will be built on the grounds of Bicester Motion’s existing 444 acre “future mobility estate” in Bicester and is the first vertiport infrastructure proposal to receive planning consent in the UK according to Skyports. 

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Skyports CEO Duncan Walker said: “With the green light from Cherwell District Council, now begins the exciting stage in vertiport development: building it. The tests and trials we conduct at this facility will be instrumental to the future of quiet, electric, vertical flight. 

“Our vertiport at Bicester Motion will facilitate important learnings and demonstrations that advance the adoption of AAM.” 

The site will be used to showcase Vertical’s VX4 prototype electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which completed its first tethered piloted flight in July and is about to begin its piloted flight testing programme. 

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The vertiport plans include a landing area for eVTOL aircraft and a 160 square metre passenger terminal, which will also form part of the testing programme by allowing Skyports to trial ground infrastructure. 

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Michael Cervenka, chief commercial and technology officer at Vertical, said: “The Skyports vertiport is a critical piece of infrastructure, helping to get our VX4 aircraft up into the air and demonstrate to the world that the future of flight is electric.” 

Development of the vertiport is supported by the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium, a group of British businesses supporting the AAM projects in the UK and backed by the UK Research and Innovation Future Flight Challenge. 

While Skyports is hoping to build the country’s first dedicated vertiport, it is far from the only company exploring the idea in the UK with Ferrovial Vertiports and eVTOL company Eve Air Mobility also looking to identify potential vertiport sites. 

Skyports ambitions have also extended beyond the UK and the company recently signed a deal with authorities in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE for the development of air taxi infrastructure in the region.