The Scottish city of Glasgow is presently the center of attention in the worldwide battle against climate change. Today marks the start of its hosting of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP26. With this in mind, its airport has also been hosting sustainability events, and has announced that Ferrovial, a shareholder of its owner AGS Airports, is planning to implement a zero-carbon vertiport network in the UK.
A UK wide 25-vertiport network
Earlier this week, Glasgow Airport opened its very own Sustainability Exhibition Space. This came just in time for the UN's COP26 summit, when begins in the city today. This opening saw the launch of a large and impressive zero-carbon vertiport project involving companies including Ferrovial, a shareholder of AGS Airports, Glasgow Airport's owner.
This will result in a 25-vertiport network in an attempt to galvanize sustainable connectivity within the UK. Ferrovial will work with Lilium and Vertical Aerospace to realize its lofty ambitions. You can see a rendering of the eVTOL aircraft in action in the tweet below.
Ferrovial Vertiports' CEO, Kevin Cox, stated that: "The partnership between vertiports and eVTOLs will provide high speed, affordable, emissions-free travel to millions of people. This network will boost local economies with a new model of regional connectivity."
Similar plans for Florida
Ferrovial plans for its UK vertiports to be "integrated into communities and adapted to the surrounding environment." This will allow these facilities, which eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft will use to both land and recharge, to have a minimal noise impact on their surrounding communities, while being free of carbon emissions.
As it happens, this is not the first such project that Ferrovial and Lilium have joined forces for. Indeed, Glasgow Airport also touched upon the fact that its announcement "follows the recently announced agreement to develop a network of more than 10 vertiports in Florida."
Simple Flying reported on this development in January 2021. The partners are planning to base this network out a dedicated hub in Orlando, which will cost $25 million to build. Their end goal is for "all 20 million Floridians [to] live within 30 minutes of our vertiports."
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Glasgow: a new center for sustainability
Glasgow's hosting of the COP26 summit has seen it become something of a center for sustainability in the UK. This has seen the city showcase other projects, such as hosting Boeing's latest ecoDemonstrator aircraft at its main airport earlier this month. Simple Flying had the opportunity to visit Scotland for a tour of this special Boeing 737 MAX 9.
The plane will join the Alaska Airlines fleet next year, but not before Boeing has used it to test various sustainable technologies. Its presence in Glasgow made for an exciting precursor to the city's hosting of COP26. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Ferrovial's UK vertiport network, as well COP26's ramifications for commercial aviation.
What do you make of this concept? Where else would you like to see vertiport networks implemented? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.