VPorts has announced the creation of the first international electric ‘advanced air mobility’ (AAM) corridor between Syracuse Hancock International Airport in New York and VPorts’ vertiport in Mirabel, Québec.
This route was identified as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by a consortium of organisations aiming to establish international electric AAM corridors between Canada and the US.
The consortium of international organisations includes VPorts, NUAIR, Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Aéro Montréal, Innovitech, the Unmanned Aerial System Centre of Excellence (Alma), and Helijet International.
This first corridor will help establish an AAM ‘ecosystem’ for full commercial cargo transport operations using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the first eVTOL aircraft test flights planned for 2023.
Fethi Chebil, President and Founder of VPorts said:The aim of the corridors is to build an AAM ecosystem that will provide a platform for full commercial cargo transport operations using eVTOLs. They will allow the consortium’s members to explore all aspects of AAM, including goods transportation, charging readiness, stakeholder management, business cases, security and safety protocols, social acceptability and urban integration of infrastructure and operations.
With this project, Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) hopes to access communities who do not have traditional transportation infrastructure.
Furthermore, a recent study by NEXA Capital estimated that the full expansion of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and AAM-related industries to Central New York could create over 8,100 full-time jobs by 2040 and would generate over 1.3 billion USD in economic benefits.
NUAIR CEO Ken Stewart said:There are currently over 5,000 underutilised regional airports throughout the United States. The development of this international AAM corridor between Syracuse, NY and Montreal will help lay the foundation for regional air mobility (RAM) operations for those underutilised airports, assisting with cargo deliveries and strengthening United States supply chains.
In addition to this international eVTOL cargo route, the US’s first specific eVTOL route for passengers has also recently been announced by Archer Aviation and United Airlines. This route will operate between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and New York City.
