Canadian startup VPorts, which plans to build vertiports and other associated ground infrastructure for eVTOLs, is stepping up its involvement in the United Arab Emirates’s burgeoning advanced air mobility (AAM) industry.
Yesterday during the Arab Aviation Summit in Ras Al Khaimah, VPorts signed deals with three companies—eVTOL developer SkyDrive, electric airplane developer Electra Aero, and Abu Dhabi-based business jet operator Falcon Aviation—that will help it stand up and operate an AAM business park in Dubai.
VPorts also simultaneously announced plans to build and operate a vertiport at the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, an Air Arabia hub about 50 miles northeast of Dubai on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The vertiport will be built on a 2.5-acre site at the Ras Al Khaimah airport and will initially be dedicated to transportation of time-sensitive cargo and medical patients. The company eventually plans to offer eVTOL flights at the vertiport.
‘‘With the support of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al-Khaimah, we are excited to build and operate the first vertiport at Ras Al Khaimah Airport,” said VPorts founder and president Fethi Chebil. “This project will enable all AAM partners to accelerate the adoption and deployment of advanced air mobility in RAK and throughout the UAE.”
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