A Peep Into World’s First Flying-Taxi Hub

We’ve taken a giant step closer to a Jetsons-like future with the opening of Urban-Air Port’s Air-One, touted as the world’s first flying-taxi hub.

Opened in Coventry, England, the station is being positioned as a pioneer for more than 200 electric vertical takeoff and landing ports that are planned to be built around the globe.

Zero-emission drones will ferry passengers and transport cargo as part of what the company calls “the coming green air transportation revolution.”

But Don’t grab your suitcase just yet, though. Air-One is currently more of a model than a working vertiport.

Let’s see This interview with Ricky Sandhu, founder and executive chairman of Urban-Air Port which was conducted during the opening of the company’s first vertiport, Urban Air One.

 It’s intended to demonstrate the feasibility of a global network of hubs that could be constructed on land, placed on water, or even sit atop a skyscraper.

That versatility means that the vertiports could reach areas current air travel cannot, and they would also have a smaller environmental footprint with less congestion and air pollution.

Vertiports would be positioned not just for passenger travel and package delivery, but also for emergency management and security and defense operations.

Constructed in just eleven weeks, Air-One has a 17,000-square-foot radial design that’s divided into zones.

Different zones house a cargo and logistics hub, vehicle hangar, security screening area and command-and-control center, as well as a passenger lounge, café, and retail pop-up sites.

The zones are anchored by a 56-foot circular platform that raises 19 feet for vertical takeoffs and landings.

Urban-Air Port said Air-One will demonstrate how purpose-built ground infrastructure can unleash the potential of advanced air mobility. The company reported a market expected to reach $1 trillion within the next 20 years.