Australia Makes Great Strides with AAM Development
AUS – Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) recently released its guidelines for the construction of vertiports to service electric air taxi networks. The agency has invited comments from stakeholders on the guidance covering site selection, physical characteristics, and visual aids, with a closing date of March 31, 2023, for responses. Together with recent announcements, including a Federal $36M funds to advance the industry and an industry roadmap released earlier this year, it is now clear that Australia is preparing not only the skies but also the transport network infrastructure to enable this revolution in aviation.
In early 2022, Australia’s federal Government released A$36 million ($24 million) in funding to support plans to develop the country’s advanced air mobility (AAM) industry. It also published a roadmap to prepare for the introduction of eVTOL aircraft. In addition, state governments in Victoria and Queensland have shown a willingness to support AAM development.
Skyportz is the only vertiport infrastructure company in Australia. They have been working for four years to encourage the development of advanced air mobility policy at all levels of Government, particularly in the space of essential vertiport infrastructure.
In Fall 2022, Skyportz announced their plans for Australia’s first vertiport in Melbourne. The vertiport will be located at Caribbean Park in Melbourne’s east, the fastest-growing business precinct outside Melbourne CBD. “With the development of a vertiport in a business park, we are breaking the nexus between aviation and airports. For this industry to succeed, it needs to have policymakers pushing the envelope to support new “mini airports” in locations people want to go,” said Clem Newton-Brown, CEO of Skyportz.
It is anticipated that some eVTOL aircraft will be commercially operated in the coming years, with some timelines including 2024 for limited initial passenger-carrying flights. There are over 300 designs in development, and the frontrunners are already flying prototypes.
Skyportz will seek investment partners to fund the construction of the vertiport at Caribbean Park, which will be the first in stable vertiports strategically located around Australia. Skyportz’s approval for using Melbourne’s east location is a milestone step for the company to shift focus to obtaining funding and construction partners for the project. The location will support the Melbourne urban area’s commuting requirements, and the project’s success is largely contingent on efficiently linking to other facets of the transportation system. This includes the Melbourne International Airport and other tertiary cities nearby, such as Geelong, and the viability of repurposing helicopter landing pads to create a network of eVTOL routes that will supplant a main hub in Melbourne.
Skyportz has identified about 400 potential sites across Australia, including retrofitting existing buildings and multilevel car parking garages. It is anticipated the first electric air taxi will be commercially certified to take passengers by 2024. Skyportz has looked closely at Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane as potential early markets for advanced air mobility.
CASA plans to hold informational webinars to introduce vertiports and highlight the physical characteristics of a vertiport, obstacle limitation surfaces for a vertiport, and what visual aids are required. CASA said the guidance is designed to assist those in the early stage of vertiport development. The safety regulator does not propose a specific vertiport layout but instead provides a flexible framework for developers to create a vertiport that can be built in different locations and used by other emerging aircraft.
“We’ve started the ball rolling by examining and outlining what vertiports could look like, where and how they might operate, as well as the safety requirements needed,” said Joe Hain, CASA’s team leader for future aerodromes. “The aim is that vertiports can be built where they are needed, whether on top of a skyscraper in a high-density city or an open space in a regional town.”