![Aerial rendering of Advanced Air Mobility vertiport concept in Orlando, Florida. [Credit: Greater Orlando Aviation Authority]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/AAM-Orlando.jpg)
Airports are always modernizing to adapt to new challenges such as safety and sustainability.
Soon, though, they could face one of their greatest challenges yet—the integration of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis, autonomous drones, and other advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft.
“[Our] goal is to ensure that future eVTOL operations can be safely integrated into a large-hub airport environment, with standardized procedures to minimize air traffic controller workload and impacts to the legacy aviation operation,” said the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), which operates Orlando International Airport (KMCO) and Orlando Executive Airport (KORL) in Florida.
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Orlando International is one of the first U.S. airports to announce plans for a vertiport, which it hopes will be operational by 2028. These electrified takeoff and landing areas form one piece of the AAM infrastructure equation. Also required will be heaps of energy, as well as new traffic management systems for uncrewed aircraft.
The Department of Transportation’s Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) plan lays some groundwork for airports, replacing outdated equipment, digitizing communications, and building new facilities over the next three years to accommodate the influx of new entrants.
Real-world trials—such as those planned under this summer’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP)—will help airports further understand what is required. But the work is already underway.
Vertiports on the Horizon
GOAA got the ball rolling in March when it began negotiations with prospective developers and operators. Two were short-listed to move to a second phase that is expected to begin in early 2026. Contract negotiations and awards could happen by the summer.
On the opposite coast, eVTOL manufacturer Archer Aviation acquired the lease to Hawthorne Municipal Airport (KHHR)—the planned hub of a Los Angeles air taxi network that it hopes will ferry spectators and athletes around the 2028 Olympic Games. Hawthorne could be one of the first to follow in Orlando’s footsteps.
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Dedicated vertiport manufacturers such as Skyports and UrbanV are pursuing their own projects.
Skyports last year began electrifying its Downtown Heliport in Manhattan, New York, operated jointly with Groupe ADP since April. It also announced the first of several Florida vertiports that will serve Archer’s Midnight.
Another developer, Landings, is planning a vertiport network that would connect 12 locations in upstate New York.
UrbanV has a joint venture with Signature Aviation to develop a nationwide vertiport network, beginning with locations in New York, Florida, California, and Texas. Signature has its own partnerships with manufacturers Archer, Beta Technologies, Boeing’s Wisk Aero, Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility, and Part 135 AAM operator UrbanLink Air Mobility.
“Everything from the location of vertiports, availability…of sufficient charging station capability, FAA-approved flight paths, and even amenities…will largely be determined by the needs and requirements of the operators,” said Ed Wegel, chairman and CEO of UrbanLink. “Unless we find a way to make money, the entire system will break down.”
Signature isn’t the only FBO looking to the horizon.
Atlantic Aviation even created its own subsidiary—Vertiports by Atlantic (VBA). In February 2025, VBA CEO Kevin Cox said the company has four leases in Florida that will allow it to build vertiports in cities. They could be as large as 2-3 acres and will come online within two years, Cox said.
Clay Lacy Aviation is preparing to electrify its terminals in partnership with Joby Aviation and Hyundai’s Supernal. Joby is further exploring vertiports on top of Metropolis’ network of parking garages, including some airport sites. It has acquired several New York heliports from Blade Air Mobility that will be equipped with its proprietary charging system.
Beta, which also builds chargers, has activated 54 sites across 24 states that it said are certified for commercial operations.
“We want to understand how a potential design fits into the nearby airspace and traffic patterns from a pilot’s perspective,” said Nate Ward, Beta’s ground support equipment lead. “We also want to understand how our infrastructure can most seamlessly integrate into the overall pilot experience.”
Early AAM operations will use existing infrastructure. But GOAA said vertiport planning “needs to begin today to understand future energy needs across a region.” Fortunately, developers have received some guidance in the form of the FAA’s Engineering Brief 105A (EB 105A).
The brief—a supplement to existing heliport design standards—classifies vertiports as a type of heliport for aircraft with three or more propulsors. Wayne Heibeck, deputy associate administrator for the FAA’s Office of Airports, said that distinction allows developers to use existing infrastructure requirements during the zoning and licensing process, with “minimal changes.”
EB 105 covers vertiports designed for piloted models with a maximum takeoff weight up to 12,500 pounds, operating under VMC. It sets the geometry of the touchdown and liftoff area (TLOF), final approach and takeoff area (FATO), and surrounding safety area based on the diameter of an eVTOL’s rotor system, rather than its body size.
Beta uses what it calls a “multi-criteria-decision analysis” to determine where chargers are sited within the vertiport.
“The most important factors include where the grid power comes from, where the passengers and crew will be while the aircraft is charging, who the primary customers are for the location and operation, and how the charger fits into the overall infrastructure plans at the airport,” said Ward.
Still, more research is needed to understand exactly what shape future vertiports will take.
“For example, how do downwash and outwash caution areas impact a vertiport layout and facility throughput?” GOAA asked.
Per research published in 2024, eVTOL aircraft surveyed by the FAA produced winds close to 100 mph within 41 feet of the TLOF. Even from 100 feet out, wind speeds reached 60 mph.
Energy demands present another obstacle. JC Asencio, infrastructure and emerging markets partnerships manager for Wisk, estimated that vertiports at their peak will require 500-750 kilowatts of energy per aircraft to enable 15-minute turnarounds.
“Investing in this infrastructure now future-proofs the airport,” Asencio said.
In the future, vertiport design could be performance-based. In 2025, the FAA conducted operational helicopter testing, also open to eVTOL manufacturers, to gather data on aircraft performance. By 2027, it hopes to publish a new advisory circular with performance-based standards for both vertiport and heliport design.
Asencio said Wisk’s flight test data could inform standards for autonomous vertiport operations. In lieu of firm guidance, the company tells developers to plan for precision landing systems, high connectivity, and other features that would enable autonomy. It is also pushing for multi-FATO vertiports to improve cadence and create alternative landing areas for “off-nominal scenarios.”
“Our collaborations with partners…have taught us that operational flow is as critical as hardware specs,” Asencio said.
Other Piece of the Puzzle
Vertiports are the key piece of physical infrastructure for AAM operations. But equally important will be digital infrastructure, such as the uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) traffic management (UTM) platforms NASA and the FAA are studying.
Wisk Aero is the only American eVTOL air taxi company that plans to be autonomous at launch. But Joby, Archer, Beta, and others plan to one day transition to reduced-crew or fully uncrewed operations. Firms such as Reliable Robotics and Merlin Labs are further retrofitting airframes with automated systems. Soon, small drones could be authorized to fly in controlled airspace under the FAA’s Part 108.
“We have to have a flexible airspace system and tools that allow for this type of integration,” said Frank Matus, who leads UAS and AAM integration strategy for Thales. “The system today doesn’t offer that wide-scale integration.”
Thales supplies FAA-compliant systems for the North Dakota Transportation Department’s Vantis—a statewide infrastructure network for UAS testing and integration. Vantis uses primary surveillance radar, ADS-B, and other deconfliction and situational awareness services to provide real-time airspace management for UAS of all sizes.
“You really can’t segregate the airspace to have aircraft fly at different levels and under certain conditions,” Matus said. “It’s a system that has to work together.”
Matus said Thales follows the FAA’s “first article” process to integrate its systems at airports, such as North Dakota’s Grand Forks Air Force Base (KRDR), where General Atomics utilizes them daily for MQ-9 Reaper test flights. The uncrewed drones fly without a chase plane alongside commercial traffic and trainees at a nearby flight school.
Matus said these small trials provide a model of the third-party UTM services the FAA envisions as an additional layer to existing air traffic control. But other challenges—such as credentialing, secure connectivity, and data protection—must still be addressed.
“We’re seeing a lot more connectivity between the aircraft itself and digital services that are required for airspace approvals and management, that we typically don’t see in traditional air traffic management,” Matus said. “We’re going to have a lot more connected systems.”
Airports, OEMs, and traffic management providers will have an opportunity to answer some of these questions when the eIPP begins this summer. During those trials, the FAA will lift certain limitations to allow expanded operations with precertified aircraft—including for revenue. Airports such as KMCO and KORL, which GOAA said are part of an eIPP application, will be able to stand up temporary infrastructure.
GOAA in 2025 participated in FAA simulations to analyze AAM arrivals and departures at Orlando International. Soon, it will get the chance to validate those simulations with real aircraft, infrastructure, and airport personnel. After that, it may not be long before AAM technologies are ready for deployment.
“I think the technology is there,” Matus said. “It’s ready to go.”
This column first appeared in the March Issue 968 of the FLYING print edition.
