9 February 2021
Britain’s soon-to-be-opened ground-breaking airport for high-tech drones and flying cars is already wowing the world’s stage - as a global first.
It’s already making global headlines, and attracting TV coverage from all over the world, ahead of its launch in Britain this year - and theworld’s first airport for flying cars and delivery drones promises to be a ground-breaking project. Located in the Ricoh Arena, Coventry in the West Midlands, the zero-emission airport, designed by Urban Air Port, will be installed in a matter of days and has thebacking of the British Government and the Hyundai Motor Group. Air-One has been designed to transform urban transport - allowing air taxis and electric drones to land and recharge, helping to reduce congestion, cut air pollution, and contribute to a zero-carbon future.
Air-One has been developed for the forthcoming 'urban air mobility' revolution which is estimated to be worth almost £1 trillion over the next 20 years as companies and authorities invest in Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft and the infrastructure it requires. It can be integrated with electric vehicles and sustainable public transport and also operated off-grid. The development of supporting infrastructure is imperative to this unique venture that is set to help lead the way in developing a robust, accessible and intermodal infrastructure network for future mobility.
At around 60 per cent smaller than a heliport, the airport will be the first of more than 200 zero emission sites Urban Air Port plans to install worldwide over the next five years in response to global demand. I. The first instance, it will be used to help the public understand the new technology, with Malloy Aeronautics, a UK-based drone developer, demonstrating the use of large cargo drones at the site.
The airport’s pioneering design allows it to be easily dismantled and moved to alternative sites, as the air-mobility sector develops. Alongside urban environments, the design has been developed with disaster emergency management in mind to enable the rapid deployment of drones and other eVTOL to collect and transport emergency supplies, equipment and people where needed.
Ricky Sandhu, founder and executive chairman of Urban Air Port, said: "Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs will need Urban Air Ports.
"Over a hundred years ago, the world's first commercial flight took off, creating the modern connected world.
"Urban Air Port will improve connectivity across our cities, boost productivity and help the UK to take the lead in a whole new clean global economy.
In addition to investment from Hyundai, Urban Air Port has been awarded a £1.2 million grant from UK Research and Innovation's Future Flight Challenge for its pledge to support a cleaner, green economic recovery that will position the UK at the vanguard of electric urban air mobility.
The project - described as "innovation at its finest" - is certainly proof that the notion of flying cars is no longer purely a futuristic flight of fancy. As the world’s 5th largest automobile company, the Hyundai Motor Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Since it was founded in 1967, the Hyundai Motor Group has been at the forefront of technological advancement and the company plans to have commercialised its own flying vehicles by 2028.
