“Over the last few months the significant differentiator between the fast-growing AAM regions of the world and others is the role that local authorities are playing in laying the foundations for AAM infrastructure projects,” said Philip Butterworth-Hayes, who has been leading the research. “Oklahoma has become the latest US state or region to announce an AAM development strategy, joining Maryland, Michigan, Georgia, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, New York and others develop integrated transport plans which include AAM. In China, there are now more than 15 cities and regions who are actively engaged in planning routes, buying eVTOLs and identifying vertiport locations for development. This ‘bottom-up’ approach to infrastructure development will be critical in ensuring local authority standards and regulations are more smoothly integrated into vertiport planning and approvals (while making these projects more interesting for potential investors) than the “top-down” industry-led programmes.”
Some of these local authority infrastructure projects are far more than just tentative wish lists. Oklahoma plans to spend and attract investment of around USD 35 million in vertiports and associated air traffic management technology this year, focusing on hospital patient and equipment transfers, search-and-rescue operations into hard-to-access areas, and support for law enforcement activities.
Oklahoma AAM infrastructure planning
The world’s largest local authority investor is probably Shenzhen in China which has pledged to invest 12 billion yuan (USD1.7 billion) in infrastructure for the low-altitude economy over the next two years, building over 1,200 take-off and landing platforms for air taxis and drones by 2026.
“Advanced planning or actual building work has started on 218 vertiports in the Far East and 41 in the Middle East; in Europe, this figure is just 13,” said Butterworth-Hayes, “and the European vertiports will be used for demonstration and research flights, rather than commercial operations starting in 2025 or 2026.”
In Europe and North America most of the initial vertiport developments will be based on existing aviation infrastructure, airports and heliports, while in the Far East, where general aviation has a much smaller footprint, around three-quarters of vertiports will be built in an around cities.
The latest edition of Unmanned Publications The global vertiport market map and forecast 2025-2029, detailing country-by-country, city-by-city plans for vertiport developments and market shares of vertiport developers will be available on February 5, 2025. For more information please contact the author at Philip@unmannedairspace.info.
(Image: Shutterstock – created by AI)