12 December 2024
Building work for a ‘Vertiport’ for air taxis has started at Bicester Aerodrome, part of the 444-acre Bicester Motion site.
The vertiport is being constructed by Skyports Infrastructure, a member of the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium, which is backed by the government funded Innovate UK Future Flight Challenge project. It is under construction on a plot of 0.42 acres (0.17 hectares) which will include a compact 160 square metre passenger terminal.
“Once complete, it will be a critical facility for testing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flight operations, ground infrastructure, and air traffic management and will play a significant role in enabling the next generation of electric, low noise aviation in the UK,” said a statement from Bicester Motion.
For comparison, this is an existing helipad, located at Scarborough Hospital and used by the air ambulance. Photo: Yorkshire Air Ambulance
The vertiport is being constructed adjacent to Bicester Aerodrome’s existing general aviation grass runways and is due to be completed in early 2025.
The vertiport’s launch event will see partners in the Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium partners demonstrate ‘key outputs and findings from the project which will include demonstration flights by Vertical Aerospace’.
Aerial masterplan for Bicester Airfield with the vertiport top centre. Image: Bicester Motion
Daniel Geoghegan, chief executive officer of Bicester Motion said, “It’s great to see Skyports’ vertiport being built right here in Bicester.
“Once complete, it will support vertical take-off and landing aircraft testing as part of advanced air mobility innovation.
“We’re proud to support this vertiport testbed as part of our strategic vision to integrate both traditional and vertical aviation operations from our airfield and boost pioneering future mobility discovery.”
