Urban-Air Port and Leeds Airport to Develop Aerial Vehicle Hub

Urban-Air Port, a transport and logistics infrastructure start-up, has partnered with Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) to develop a new unmanned and manned aerial vehicle hub.

Urban-Air Port will work with Leeds Bradford Airport to develop a hydrogen-powered infrastructure hub for the command, charging and loading of logistics drones at the UK airport. The hub will provide safe and secure infrastructure to support future drone delivery services in the Leeds City Region.

This project consequently advances Urban-Air Port’s goal of reducing congestion in busy cities and creating sustainable logistics solutions throughout the UK.

Leeds Bradford Airport and Urban-Air Port will develop a manned and unmanned aerial vehicle hub at the UK airport

Ricky Sandhu, Urban-Air Port’s Founder and Executive Chairman, said:
In putting this agreement with LBA in place, we are getting ahead of the curve for the next wave of logistics and infrastructure. We are looking forward to developing an ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, multi-functional operations hub with facilities for vehicles providing aircraft command and control, charging/refuelling, cargo, and passenger loading. This will result in a future with less vehicles on our road and more sustainable cities.

This recent announcement builds upon Urban-Air Port’s success with constructing its first Air One vertiport for passenger air taxis and logistics drones in Coventry, which will officially open at a launch event on 25 April 2022.

Within the scope of the agreement between Urban-Air Port and Leeds Bradford Airport, there is also capacity to develop storage and charging infrastructure for Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles at LBA, such as air taxis.

Charles Johnson, Head of Planning Development at LBA, said:
This collaboration signifies an exciting development for the airport and highlights the ability of Yorkshire to lead on innovative infrastructure solutions. It’s fantastic to see how aviation and its partner industries are developing new technologies that will be essential to our future. I am looking forward to seeing how the project develops, as we continue to act as a key hub for connectivity in the UK.