The future imagined by the Jetsons may have taken one step closer to reality after it was announced that Coventry City Council will build an airport for flying cars.
The Urban Air Port, which will be built in partnership with Hyundai and part-funded by the UK government will be the world’s first commercial home for air taxis, autonomous delivery drones and future electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft.
Hyundai expect to build 200 similar sites around the world over the next five years, with the Urban Air Ports said to help reduce congestion, cut air pollution and build towards a zero carbon future.
Coventry was chosen as the first location due to its central location in England, and the proposed site will be 60 per cent smaller than a traditional heliport, with Coventry’s set to be unveiled as ‘Air-One’ some time in 2021 as part of the the UK city of culture celebrations.
NASA has predicted that the urban-air mobility industry could be worth up to £375 billion, though the infrastructure was one of the biggest barriers to progress.
“Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs will need Urban Air Ports,” said Urban Air Port founder, Ricky Sandhu.
“Over a hundred years ago, the world’s first commercial flight took off, creating the modern connected world. Urban Air Port® will improve connectivity across our cities, boost productivity and help the UK to take the lead in a whole new clean global economy. Flying cars used to be a futuristic flight of fancy. Air-One® will bring clean urban air transport to the masses and unleash a new airborne world of zero emission mobility.”