Air traffic control (ATC) specialists with Orlando International Airport (KMCO) are working with the FAA to introduce electric air taxi and other advanced air mobility (AAM) operations.
The airport on Friday said it was the second, following Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX), to conduct simulated electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft operations at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in New Jersey. During the three-day exercise, personnel used theoretical routes and procedures and human-in-the-loop modeling—combining humans and automation—to gauge the impact of routine eVTOL flights.
“This assessment reflects our drive to help lead the next evolution of flight,” said Lance Lyttle, CEO of the Greater Orlando Airport Authority (GOAA), which operates the facility, in a statement.
The New Jersey technical center houses the FAA’s state-of-the-art Airport Facilities Terminal Integration Laboratory (AFTIL), where Orlando-based ATC specialists worked with photorealistic, 3D airport models and aircraft simulations. The site’s 60-by-60-foot mock-up laboratory, control tower simulators, and virtual airport space—which can be explored using 3D goggles—re-create the movement of aircraft at more than 100 airports.
The simulations follow two days of AAM tabletop exercises in November of last year, during which GOAA met with the FAA, elected officials, consultants, three airlines, and representatives from five OEMs. The discussions centered around operational rules and aircraft certification.
They also led to the identification of two potential AAM sites covering about 32 acres of land at Orlando International: an undeveloped parcel on the East Airfield, and an area adjacent to the train station near its Terminal C. The FAA is evaluating ATC needs for separating eVTOL aircraft within the airport’s Class B airspace.
Initial efforts will focus on the East Airfield location, where GOAA has already invested in preparation for future aircraft. It has conceptual plans for a research and development hub, as well as vertiports—electrified takeoff and landing sites. In March, it issued an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) with vertiport developers for the right to design, build, operate, and maintain two such sites, which will be provided “as is, where is.”
GOAA envisions the vertiports as “common-use” facilities for on-demand, scheduled, hub-and-spoke, and point-to-point services—excluding “personal air mobility” vehicles such as Pivotal’s Helix or Jetson’s Jetson One. It is seeking “seamless connectivity” to move passengers between the East Airfield and main terminals. Proposals should address on-airport transportation.
Per the ITN, GOAA expects to award a nonexclusive contract by mid-April. Awardees will not be reimbursed for their design efforts, but there may be financial incentives on the table from the city of Orlando, Orlando Economic Partnership, Florida Commerce, and Space Florida. GOAA plans to provide foundational infrastructure, including roadways, utilities, and power supply.
Airports Embrace AAM
Orlando International is not the only airport looking to the horizon.
Los Angeles International was the first to participate in AAM simulations at the AFTIL, conducted earlier this year with eVTOL developer Joby Aviation. The partners studied deconfliction and traffic flows, integration with ATC communications, pilot and controller workload, and more. Los Angeles is one of Joby’s planned launch markets for its home-to-airport air taxi service.
Orlando International is the rare U.S. airport to share conceptual vertiport plans. But plenty of others have installed electric aircraft chargers from Joby and competitor Beta Technologies, whose network spans more than 50 airport terminals and FBO sites. Beta in June flew its electric conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) Alia into New York’s JFK International Airport (KJFK)—the first time a passenger-carrying electric aircraft landed at JFK, LaGuardia (KLGA), or Newark Liberty International (KEWR).
These moves are not occurring in a vacuum. The FAA anticipates AAM operations at scale by 2028 and is developing regulations to facilitate them. In October, for example, the agency finalized initial operational and pilot training rules for eVTOL and other powered-lift aircraft. It followed that up in July with the release of powered-lift certification guidance, giving developers a clearer blueprint.
The overhauled Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule, meanwhile, permits two-seat eVTOL models in the light sport category.
Momentum for AAM extends all the way to the White House, which in June created the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) via executive order. On Friday, the FAA issued a call for state and local governments to participate in the program alongside private sector partners.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will choose at least five eIPP projects by March 11. Already, Joby, Beta, Archer Aviation, and Boeing’s Wisk Aero have announced plans to participate.
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