Construction underway at first UK vertiport
December 12, 2024
The ground-breaking ceremony at Bicester Motion in the UK’s Oxfordshire marks the start of construction of the UK’s first vertiport testbed, set to be a “critical facility” for testing eVTOL operations. It will open early next year with a demonstration flight from Vertical Aerospace.
Planning approval for the facility was granted earlier this summer, with the 160 square foot passenger terminal and aircraft landing site to be built on a 0.42 acre plot within a wider 444 acre area. It will sit alongside the airfield’s existing runways.
The vertiport is being developed as part of the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium, backed by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge. A Bicester spokesperson said that the testbed will “serve as a key node for the Consortium’s wider testing programme, including demonstration flights, ground operations, aircraft integration, and public and stakeholder engagement”.
“With spades in ground and the site beginning to take shape, today we are one step closer to delivering our vertiport at Bicester Motion,” said Skyports chief executive officer Duncan Walker. “We look forward to opening the facility in a few months’ time to continue our efforts to develop and scale electric air taxi services”.
The facility will launch with an inauguration event at which Advanced Mobility Ecosystem partners – including UK eVTOL manufacturer Vertical Aerospace – will “test and demonstrate key outputs and findings from the project”. Chief commercial and strategy officer of Vertical Aerospace Michael Cervenka concluded: “Facilities like this are essential for enabling the seamless integration of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft into our airspace and helping people better understand the benefits they bring”.
