ORLANDO, Fla. — The state of Florida says it’s ready for eVTOLs. Gov. Ron DeSantis says construction is underway on two vertiports.
Orlando International Airport is getting ready for this advanced air mobility technology. An eVTOL is basically an air taxi, going up like a helicopter and taking people short distances.
Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Senior Vice President Brad Friel described them as “kind of like Uber and Lyft in our industry.”
Airport leaders have identified two sites where the eVTOLs could take off from at the train station and east airfield.
“Throughout the community, it’s going to have to create a network of these vertiports over time, and just because they could take off the land of the airport, they have to go somewhere,” Friel said.
And the state of Florida is working on that. DeSantis said, “The idea would be if they can do this to scale, if they can make it economical, it would take some traffic off the roads.”
The governor said the state is building two vertiports at the Florida Department of Transportation’s SunTrax testing facility in Polk County.
DeSantis said the state will establish the nation’s first advanced air mobility aerial test bed and dedicated airspace there. They will also work expand the reach and create a statewide network of interconnected commercial vertiports.
Delta is partnering with Joby Aviation, one of the leading advanced air mobility companies, to get these air taxis off the ground.
Delta is advertising that you skip the traffic with an electric air taxi.
The initial launch for Delta and the Joby air taxis will be in New York and Los Angeles.
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