Skyports Infrastructure and Bicester Motion have broken ground on the United Kingdom’s first vertiport testbed in Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Based on a 444-acre estate acquired for the testing of future mobility, the vertiport itself is under construction on a singular plot of 0.42 acres, and will include a 160sq m passenger terminal.
Daniel Geoghegan, Chief Executive Officer, 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.
Once complete in 2025, the vertiport will be situated adjacent to Bicester Motion’s general aviation grass runways, with plans for an inauguration event featuring tests & demonstrations from Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium partners, as well as demonstration flights from Vertical Aerospace, now underway.
Duncan Walker, Chief Executive Officer, Skyports added:With spades in ground and the site beginning to take shape, today we are one step closer to delivering our vertiport at Bicester Motion.
Our thanks to the project and construction teams for their work so far and we look forward to opening the facility in a few months’ time to continue our efforts to develop and scale electric air taxi services.
