What Goes Into a Vertiport? Node4 Supports Skyports Infrastructure with Data Analysis and IT

air mobilityNode4 Supports Skyports Infrastructure with Global Network Infrastructure and Cloud-Based Data Analysis

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

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Leading vertiport provider Skyports Infrastructure has commissioned cloud-led digital transformation Managed Services Provider (MSP) Node4 to provide the IT network components and data analysis capabilities required for vertiport operations. The agreement will see Node4 support Skyports Infrastructure through the construction of a global SD-WAN capability. Expected to go live at its first UK location later in the year, SD-WAN will eventually cover additional UK sites and extend to Skyports Infrastructure facilities in the USA, Dubai and France. SD-WAN will provide the enabling technology and connectivity for Skyports Infrastructure’s global vertiport operations.

SD-WAN will allow for faster deployment at each of the company’s vertiport facilities while centralizing and streamlining remote operations, letting Skyports Infrastructure monitor and manage a network of vertiports in near real-time. SD-WAN will offer reliable availability and performance, in addition to centralized management and strong network security.

“Everyone at Node4 is so easy to work with. The team are approachable and flexible — always offering to go above and beyond for us. Node4 also provides invaluable guidance to build Skyports Infrastructure’s in-house expertise.” said Dan Lambeth, Site Reliability Engineer at Skyports Infrastructure. “We have a long technology journey ahead of us, but with the support of key technology partners such as Node4 and the insight they provide, the journey will be smooth. Looking to the next 12 to 24 months of technology development, we’re in an excellent position to continue at pace with our vertiport technology product.”

Skyports Infrastructure’s IT team will also benefit from Node4’s extensive cloud-based knowledge. Node4 has previously assisted Skyports Infrastructure in building and configuring several Azure landing zones for the development of custom vertiport IT systems and software, and will now enable the development of the necessary APIs to allow vertiport partners and operators to connect, collaborate and share data easily. Node4 is additionally assisting Skyports Infrastructure with a large-scale, cloud-based data warehousing project designed to store, capture and facilitate analysis of aircraft telemetry and journey data, including weather and optimal route information.

“We’re delighted to be playing a pivotal role in helping Skyports Infrastructure realise its mission of making electric air taxi travel a reality – and supporting the development and operation of its vertiports,” said Node4 CCO Iain Shearman. “Network infrastructure solutions, in combination with our Azure and Database experience, have the potential to bring about such a reimagining of urban travel. I can’t wait to see how this project develops and, who knows, to take one of the first eVTOL flights from a Skyports Infrastructure vertiport in the not-too-distant future!”

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.

FAA Reauthorization Clears the House of Representatives: Package Calls for More Progress on BVLOS Flight, Drone Integration

FAA Reauthorization HR

Photo: @MRobbinsAUVSI (Twitter)

The U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the FAA Reauthorization Package, Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935), by a vote of 63 – 0 today.  The Act calls for the FAA to commit to timelines for a BVLOS rulemaking, UTM, and drone integration.

The legislation would provide funding for the FAA for the next five years: the current authorization expires in September of 2023.  The package addresses all aspects of the FAA’s purview, and Title VI – Aerospace Innovation, Sections 601 – 687, addresses  Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Advanced Air Mobility.

Timeline for BVLOS Rulemaking

One notable aspect of the Act concerns a rulemaking on drone operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS.). While the BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee released their recommendations in March of 2022, no Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) has followed.  The Act would require the FAA to move forward with the rulemaking process according to a specific timeline:

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking establishing airworthiness and operational regulations for unmanned aircraft systems operated beyond visual line of sight that are intended to operate primarily at or below 400 feet above ground level.

….(f) INTERIM APPROVALS.—Before the date on which the Administrator issues a final rule under this section, the Administrator shall use the process described in sec- tion 44807 of title 49, United States Code, to authorize unmanned aircraft system operations conducted beyond visual line of sight.

(g) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 16 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a final rule establishing the regulations required under this section.

While this could mean that a BVLOS NPRM would be issued early next year, the timeline is dependent upon agreement between House and Senate, and the timely passage of a comprehensive package.  The current Reauthorization package, passed in 2018, followed several years of interim extensions.

Support from the Drone Industry

On behalf of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Chief Advocacy Officer Michael Robbins issued the following statement in support of the bill:

“The world is entering an exciting new era of aviation, but for the benefits of advanced aviation, drones and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) to be realized, U.S. companies need more support and regulatory clarity.

This legislation is a meaningful step forward in safely integrating drones and AAM into the airspace and increasing U.S. global competitiveness by supporting domestic workforce growth and technology innovation and manufacturing.

AUVSI commends Chairman Sam Graves, Ranking Member Rick Larsen, Aviation Subcommittee Chair Garret Graves, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Cohen for their bipartisan leadership. We call on the full House of Representatives to swiftly pass this bill to enhance safety for all users of the national airspace system.”

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Trilogy Networks and MLGC Launch World’s Largest Precision Ag Deployment with the ‘Dakota*ICP’

Trilogy Networks, the leader in AI-powered precision agricultural infrastructure and data-driven farming solutions, and MLGC, an ultra-high-speed broadband and business services provider, today announced the Dakota Innovation Corridor Project (Dakota*ICP), a multimillion-dollar commitment to dramatically advance the adoption of data-driven farming practices across North Dakota.

“This is the world’s largest deployment of precision agricultural infrastructure to enable data-driven farming,” said George Woodward, president and CEO of Trilogy Networks. “North Dakota delivers the perfect combination of innovation, scale, and some of the richest farmland in the world. We welcome MLGC as a strategic partner to co-market, sell, and support precision ag infrastructure solutions that will deliver timely and actionable information to sustainably increase yields, profitability, and efficiency.”

Dakota*ICP spans 250 square miles that includes 25 large family-owned farms operating more than 150,000 acres. Every farm will have access to MLGC’s 10-gigabit ultra-high-speed broadband combined with Trilogy’s FarmGridTM, the world’s only cloud native AI-powered full-stack precision agriculture infrastructure solution.

FarmGrid includes hyper-local soil and micro-local climate sensors that connect to the growers private 5G and AI-powered edge network. Each farm has a highly secure and fully integrated cloud connection that includes a farmer-controlled private data vault and marketplace that allows growers to monetize their business intelligence making data the new crop.

FarmGrid provides ag-focused artificial intelligence, aerial imagery processing, advanced soil analytics, micro-climate monitoring, and autonomy, all designed to deliver automation and time-sensitive actionable information to the 2.1 million growers in the U.S.

The Dakota*ICP relies on MLGC’s world-class telecommunications network in North Dakota. MLGC continues to invest with a $17 million expansion at the heart of the innovation corridor, on top of the tens of millions dollars invested over time by MLGC to build its network.

“MLGC advanced from broadband connections to broadacre solutions; we’re moving beyond last mile connectivity to providing last acre coverage to every farm we serve,” said Tyler Kilde, MLGC’s president and CEO. “Our partnership with Trilogy Networks continues a long history of investing millions to deliver the industry’s most advanced solutions to our rural customers. Connected by our 10-gigabit network, Trilogy’s FarmGrid precision agriculture infrastructure and data-driven farming practices will deliver unimaginable gains to farmers in North Dakota and serve as an example for farmers around the world.”

The project is engineered to enable, validate, and accelerate the adoption of data-driven farming practices to increase yields, lower costs, and improve profitability while lowering environmental impacts. In addition to benefiting farmers, the data will drive highly valued business intelligence that can be marketed to the multi-billion dollar seed, nutrient, and crop protection industries, in addition to large agricultural enterprises and the entire agri-food industry.

The Agriculture Act of 2018 included the congressional declaration acknowledging forecasts that the world will be 50% short of food by the year 2050. Recent climate events combined with the Russian-Ukrainian war accelerated the potential for a food crisis on a global scale. National and international organizations are calling for technological solutions to be in place by the year 2030 if forecasted food shortages are to be prevented.

“The Dakota*ICP is the realization of the congressional call to deploy technology to sustainably double America’s crop yields to prevent a potential global famine,” said Woodward. “Our FarmGrid precision ag infrastructure dramatically accelerates the digital transformation for American farmers. The cloud native AI powered full-stack architecture provides business intelligence and supply chain visibility required by the multitude of stakeholders in America’s $1.5 trillion agri-food industry.”

To oversee the successful launch and growth of the Dakota*ICP, Trilogy Networks announced it will open its Center for Agricultural Innovation in Fargo, North Dakota. Led by Woodward, the center will focus on deploying and adopting data-driven farming practices in the Red River Valley and throughout the state. Trilogy plans to hire a full staff at the center to support the business development, engineering and customer support functions for the entire region.

The Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant (DIIG) Act of 2023

Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant ActThe U.S. Congress is again discussing a Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act, which would offer funding for drone technology and training to support the president’s infrastructure development package.

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H.R. 3595, introduced by Rep Greg Stanton (D-AZ) and Garret Graves (R-LA), is a reprise of the 2021 H.R. 5315, which passed in the House but did not progress in the Senate last year.  The grant supports the drone industry in several ways, not least in the acknowledgement that drone technology offers significant efficiencies for infrastructure inspection.  The Act would provide funding for state, local, and tribal governments to purchase or contract for approved drone technology to “perform critical infrastructure inspection, maintenance, rehabilitation, or construction projects,” says a Rep. Stanton press release on H.R. 5315.

“Drones are a common-sense tool to inspect some of the toughest to reach parts of our infrastructure,” said Stanton. “It’s safer, speedier and more sustainable. These grants will go a long way to help state, local and tribal governments invest in this cutting-edge technology and better care for aging infrastructure.”

Additionally, the DIIG Act would provide funding to institutions of higher education, including community colleges, to develop drone workforce training.  This aligns with sections of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which tasked the FAA with creating the UAS Collegiate Training Initiative.

Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer for the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), said the DIIG Act would help the U.S. drone industry remain competitive.

“Drones are being relied on as indispensable tools for critical operations, including infrastructure inspections — and that role will only continue to grow as the technology advances further. The future of aviation leadership is in autonomy, and the United States must invest in supporting the drone industry and growing workforce,” said Robbins. “The DIIG act accomplishes both goals by providing states with grants to funding to acquire and utilize secure drones for infrastructure inspection and to train the workforce to conduct these critical missions.”

“The U.S. cannot afford to fall behind in the drone industry’s ability to attract capital, investment, and workforce,” said Robbins. “Congress should pass this commonsense legislation to help level the playing field for the U.S. drone industry and to encourage the infrastructure and workforce benefits the DIIG ACT would bring to communities nationwide.”

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SixArms ARMS (airborne radio measurement systems opportunities

You’re either an experience RF consultant who can see a gap in correctly assessing the performance of  RF infrastructure or you’re a part of a competent drone operation looking to expand your service offering.

Talk to us about becoming trained and certified to provide our solutions to your clients. We’ll provide complete training on the use of the ARMS units (hardware) and Antenna Measurement Studio (software) so that by the end of the training, you are confident in gathering the correct RF data for evaluation. We will continuously support you on your quest to solve RF infrastructure assessments.

Industries we currently have solutions for are Broadcasting, Cellular, Aeronautical, Defence and Satellite. 

Our head office is based on the sunny Gold Coast of Australia and we have partners and certified operators all around the globe. We offer a unique and challenging environment with lots of opportunity to learn, travel and create your own nich.

Contact us on [email protected] for more information. 

Ideally you have experience in both flying and maintaining drones as well as some radio frequency technician exposure. However, if you only have one or the other, we are still interested to hear from you. Ideally, your drone experience involves surveying in one capacity or another and your capabilities go beyond just ‘taking pictures’, Your RF experience could be in broadcast, telecommunications, navaids, military and even satellite. 

We’re always on the search for standout interns. Particularly in the fields of mechatronics, electrical engineeringaeronautical engineering, data analytics and software development (C/C++/C#, Python, Web Development). However, because we have such a diversified work ecosystem, we are also interested in marketing and business focused interns.

Send through a brief introductory email and your resume to [email protected] . We look forward to hearing from you!

Skydio Partners with gNext for Drone Infrastructure Inspection

Skydio drone infrastructure inspectiongNext and Skydio Announce New Cloud Integration for Drone Infrastructure Inspection

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Infrastructure inspection platform gNext Labs has announced the release of the gNext-Skydio cloud integration, granting customers improved access to their drone data in gNext’s platform.

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“We are excited to partner with Skydio to support our mutual enterprise customers with this cloud-to-cloud integration,” said gNext President Russ Ellis. “With this connectivity, we are creating seamless integration to allow field collected data to be uploaded for automatic processing in our leading infrastructure inspection platform to deliver improved workflows.”

“Skydio’s US-made, autonomous-drones are incredibly powerful at capturing imagery for asset, site or infrastructure inspections,” said Gagan Kanwar, Head of Technical Integrations & Developer Ecosystems at Skydio. “With this new partnership and API integration, Skydio and gNext will significantly improve inspection speed and quality, enabling customers to lower costs and enhance decision making.”

The integration enables customers of gNext and Skydio Cloud enterprise to upload and organize their flight data through Skydio Media Sync over Wi-Fi. Upon plugging the drone into a power source, it will autonomously transfer its data to the Skydio Cloud, where it can be stored, searched, and shared throughout the organization.

The integration utilizes the Skydio Cloud API, allowing for the automated transfer of media across the Skydio Cloud and the gNext Cloud platform, resulting in a more efficient data analysis process that removes the reliance on manual uploads. This comprehensive solution makes flight-collected media more quickly and readily accessible on the gNext platform, while eliminating the need for SD cards and manual processes.

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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.

Volarious integrates Mesh Network in the sky for large area coverage

During disasters in urban areas where local communication infrastructure has been destroyed. With many buildings, it can be difficult for search and rescue to communicate with each other over traditional radio or cellular networks. The signals can be blocked or weakened by the buildings, leading to unreliable communication. With Ace6 Quick Deploy Lite mMESH attached to drones, it creates a wireless mesh network in the air.

Due to the elevated mesh, the search and rescue team now could communicate better with wireless
networks that can extend over a larger area and can transmit signals over obstacles like buildings. Drones come up with battery life limitations. With the Volarious V-Line Pro, the search and rescue teams wouldn’t have to worry about any downtime due to the unlimited power the tethered system supplies to the drone. Providing the officers with constant and reliable communication. A static tethered mesh node can be used to eliminate blind spots between the operator and a drone flying faraway. This enables BVLOS operation of drone or drone swarms.

For example, if a police department deploys several drones equipped with mesh networking equipment, the drones can act as nodes in a mesh network and provide a communications link between officers on the ground. The mesh network can relay messages and data between the drones and ground-based nodes, creating a robust and flexible communications network that can adapt to changing conditions. Ace6 mesh networking on drones equipped with V-Line Pro tethered systems can help to improve police communication in urban areas by providing a reliable and flexible network that can overcome the challenges posed by buildings and other obstacles.

Skyports Infrastructure’s design for vertiports approved in Dubai

Skyports Infrastructure has had its vertiport design approved for development by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of Dubai, at the World Government Summit 2023.

The vision for Dubai’s future air mobility infrastructure network was jointly presented by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Skyports Infrastructure and Joby Aviation at a closed presentation ahead of the start of the World Government Summit, an annual three-day event which brings together international government officials and business leaders.

The air mobility exposition demonstrates the RTA and Skyports Infrastructure’s planned roadmap for developing a vertiport network in Dubai for launch by 2026, including a concept for how future vertiport infrastructure may look and how it will integrate with existing transportation, including the RTA’s Dubai Metro network and Dubai International Airport.

Four vertiport sites located near Dubai International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Downtown and Dubai Marina, which are currently being considered by Skyports Infrastructure and RTA, were presented to a senior delegation which included His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, accompanied by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. These initial locations will connect four of Dubai’s most popular – and populous – areas, providing high-speed, zero-emissions connectivity.

An architectural model of Skyports’ vertiport near Dubai International Airport was presented to the special delegation by RTA Chairman, His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer. Pioneer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Joby Aviation, which last week became the first eVTOL aircraft manufacturer to complete the second stage in the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) aircraft type certification process, joined RTA and Skyports Infrastructure at World Government Summit to promote the opportunities by aerial mobility in Dubai

Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports, said: “We are honoured to have received such strong endorsement of our Dubai vertiport vision from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed. The appetite for technology innovation and infrastructure expansion in Dubai makes it a hugely promising environment for the launch of advanced air mobility. We’re excited to continue working with the RTA to make our joint vision of an integrated vertiport network a reality in 2026.”

Ahmed Bahrozyan, Chief Executive Officer of The Public Transport Agency at RTA, said, “The RTA’s plan for aerial taxis is in line with the Dubai Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to make 25 percent of all trips in Dubai driverless by 2030. The project aims to roll out a new mobility service driven by pioneering technology to ease the mobility of individuals across urban areas in a safe, smooth, and sustainable manner integrated with the public transport network in Dubai. The service is set to be operational by 2026.

Europe-wide U-space implementation gets off the ground with the U-ELCOME Project

• The U-ELCOME project has launched with funding from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) in cooperation with the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking as one of its flagship Digital Sky Demonstrators (DSDs).
• In answer to a call launched by CINEA under the Connecting Europe Facility, the 3-year U-ELCOME DSD project is coordinated by the EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub and involves 51 European partners.
• This DSD project is part of an innovation pipeline to bridge the gap between applied/industrial research and industrialisation, and to accelerate the market uptake of U1 and U2 U-space services with the involvement of early movers. It also has a strong and close connection with relevant standardisation and regulatory activities and bodies.

The European Commission (EC) has recently announced the launch of a series of Digital Sky Demonstrator (DSD) projects that will contribute to the objectives set out in its Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy through accelerating the market uptake of U-space and urban air mobility (UAM) services. These DSDs will also contribute to the “Action plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries” which was adopted in February 2020, and which includes an “EU Drone Technologies Flagship” project.

Opening the sky to these new airspace users is a political and economic imperative for the EU.

The Drone Industry: key for the EU’s economic future

Developing services for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS, more commonly: drones) supported by a competitive industry can also strongly support Europe’s twin transition to a green and digital economy, and contribute to post-COVID-19 recovery and to the future resilience of the EU economy. From daily commuting and goods delivery to the proper functioning of global supply chains and the development of a wide spectrum of new applications and services, drones are an enabler of our economic and social life.

The European Green Deal, the EU’s new growth strategy, calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the development of digital transformation. In this context, the whole transport system should be made smart and sustainable, with the use of electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft and digital services. In this framework, the EU needs to ensure the safe, efficient, and sustainable development of drone operations, addressing other related concerns such as safety, security, privacy, social acceptance, and environmental protection, while simultaneously ensuring a sustainable economic environment for the growth of the European drone industry.

Innovative U-space services and the development of smart, automated, interoperable, and sustainable traffic management solutions will be key enablers for achieving the necessary high level of integration with Air Traffic Management (ATM).

Indeed, the European ATM Master Plan states that these challenging objectives can only be achieved through an evolutionary development process that ensures the timely deployment and certification of appropriate, advanced, and interoperable air and ground infrastructure, technology, and traffic management capabilities, and that provides an adequate level of services that fit with expected types of operation and levels of demand.

Following the adoption of a first EU regulatory framework for UAS (Delegated Regulation 2019/945 and Implementing Regulation 2019/947) and U-space (Implementing Regulation 2021/664), it is important to foster the uptake of these innovative operations in Europe.

15 locations in Italy, Spain and France to test and mature U-Space solutions

Building on the above-mentioned regulations, several EU countries have already started to invest in the development, procurement, and certification of ad-hoc U-space systems to enable and properly manage the expected types of commercial drone operation.

The U-ELCOME project intends to foster a fully scalable market uptake of U1 and U2 U-space services through a set of tests and demonstrations in various operational environments and European locations.

To do so, U-ELCOME, under the coordination of the EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub, will develop, test, and demonstrate early U1 and U2 U-space solutions across 15 locations distributed in Spain, Italy, and France.

Combining digital and physical infrastructure capabilities, U-ELCOME will set up, deploy, and demonstrate the following SESAR solutions up to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8:
• U-space U1 — foundation services: these will identify drones and operators, and inform operators about known restricted areas. With the deployment of U1, more drone operations are enabled, especially in areas where the density of manned traffic is low.

The U-space foundation services include e-registration, e-identification and geo-awareness.

• U-space U2 — initial services: the main purpose of these is to support the safe management of “beyond visual line of sight” (BVLOS) operations and a first level of interface and connection with ATM/ATC and manned aviation. With the deployment of U2, the range of operations at low levels will increase, including some operations in controlled airspace. Drone flights will no longer be considered on a case-by-case basis, and some BVLOS operations will become routine. At least the following initial U-space services will be included: tactical geo-fencing, emergency management, strategic deconfliction, weather information, tracking, flight planning management, monitoring, traffic information, drone aeronautical information management, and a procedural interface with ATC.

The U-space system: a real interface with the ATM system

The U-ELCOME project will build on the outcomes of the previous European projects – from research, through industrialisation, to implementation; at the same time the U-ELCOME project complies with Regulation 2021/664 on a regulatory framework for U-space, and related amended Regulations 2017-373 and 923/2012. U-ELCOME relies on real U-space systems, which are in operation or will be deployed by ENAIRE, ENAV, ASLOGIC, ITG, D-Flight and Thales during the execution of the project.

The U-ELCOME demonstrations will interface the U-space set of services with existing ATM systems, and to each other. The U-space capabilities and U1 and U2 services of the pre-operational U-space ecosystems will be demonstrated in several live use cases in various operational environments that represent the most typical missions for both business and civil authority use such as medical and goods deliveries, Inspection flights, aerial work in urban and sub-urban environments, in controlled and uncontrolled airspace.

The project, working in close cooperation with EASA and other international and national authorities and organisations will also contribute to the consolidation of standardisation and regulatory requirements of the proposed U-space services to further accelerate the deployment of relevant U1 and U2 services and U-space-based operations.

This project has received funding from European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment
Executive Agency (CINEA) under grant agreement No. 101079171.

Skyports and CAAP partner on LatAm vertiport deployment

London, United Kingdom, 30th November 2022 – Skyports Infrastructure, the market leading
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure provider, and Corporación América Airports S.A (CAAP), a
leading private airport operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to plan the
development and deployment of vertiport infrastructure for electric vertical take-off and landing
(eVTOL) operations. Skyports and Corporación América Airports will combine their distinct industry
and technical expertise to share best practices for vertiport design concepts in markets of mutual
interest.
The collaboration will involve developing vertiport networks and operationsfor relevant use cases and
detailed planning for the deployment of permanent vertiport infrastructure. As part of these efforts,
the companies will evaluate which of Corporación América Airports’ assets are best suited for vertiport
deployment, prioritising sites based on market readiness and opportunity. Location details for
prospective vertiports will be confirmed at a later stage in the partnership.
The partnership between the two companies is an important step in the growth of the AAM industry
in Latin America and supports the development of operationally critical vertiport networks.
Addison Ferrell, Director, Skyports Infrastructure said: “We are proud to partner with Corporación
América Airports to expand and stimulate the AAM ecosystem in key markets in Latin America. We’re
at an incredibly exciting point in the industry’s development as we take concrete steps towards
implementing a scalable vertiport network that will facilitate commercial eVTOL operations; this
partnership will be instrumental to achieving those objectives. Bringing together CAAP’s proven
airport leadership and Skyports’ deep expertise of AAM infrastructure will make for a compelling
partnership.”
Martin Eurnekian, CEO of Corporación América Airports, commented: “As a leading airport
concession operator, Corporación América Airports continues to build strong partnerships to position
itself as an agent of change in the development of the Advance Air Mobility ecosystem. With over 20
years of expertise and operations in six countries across LatAm and Europe, we are firmly committed
to continue building the future of this new way of transportation, which will be leaner, faster and
more sustainable.”
Corporación América Airports currently operates 53 airports in six countries across Latin America and
Europe (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Armenia and Italy). In June 2022, the company
announced partnerships with eVTOL vehicle manufacturers Eve Air Mobility and Vertical Aerospace
(both of which also partner with Skyports), Avolon, GOL, and Grupo Comporteto to support the
introduction of eVTOL operations.
Skyports Infrastructure’s work with Corporación América Airports extends Skyports’ presence in Latin
America. In 2021, the company’s drone operations arm, Skyports Drone Services, launched an
ambitious beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone logistics operation in Colombia’s remote regions
of La Guajira and Chocó, backed by investor Irelandia Aviation, which is also a majority shareholder of
Colombia’s Viva Air.