Urban-Air Port officially begins construction of Air One in Coventry
Thursday 10th Feb 2022
The Urban-Air Port team with Founder & Executive Chairman, Ricky Sandhu (Centre left) and Coventry City Councillor Jim O'Boyle (Centre right)
Last week saw another landmark moment for British start-up Urban-Air Port Ltd (UAP), as it officially began construction of Air One, its groundbreaking infrastructure for advanced air mobility, to be showcased at a launch event on 25th April, in Coventry City Centre, the 2021 UK City of Culture.
Approaching one week into construction, the UAP team assembled on Friday 4th February, joined by Councillor Jim O’Boyle – Cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change and representatives from Coventry City Council: Colin Knight – Director, Transportation and Highways; John Seddon – Head of Transport and Innovation; and Sunil Budhdeo – Transport Innovation Manager, together with employees from Principal Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM). Also present were Kevin Vincent and Professor Paul Herriotts from Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre.
Formal introductions to the construction team were followed by official meetings and an inspection of the site works, concluding with a photoshoot and an interview with Councillor O’Boyle, who said:
“This is yet another way that Coventry is leading the way when it comes to transport innovation. We are right at the front of the green industrial revolution and this is a brilliant world first.
We’re pleased to be working with our partners at Urban-Air Port to showcase this breakthrough system, which in the near future could help to boost productivity in our towns and cities as well as supporting climate change efforts by taking vehicles off the roads.
Any company looking to really innovate in this transport revolution should look to work in Coventry - whether it’s Air One, a Gigafactory or Coventry Very Light Rail, Coventry is the best place, with the best skills to collaborate with.
One of the best things about Air One is that local schools will be able to visit, look round, and be inspired for what they can achieve.”
Urban-Air Port's Founder & Executive Chairman, Ricky Sandhu (2nd from right) and Chief Design Officer, Andrea Wu (centre), discussing construction with the SRM team and Coventry City Councillor Jim O'Boyle (Far right)
“We are absolutely thrilled to get Urban-Air Port’s Air One on site – this marks a unique and transformative moment where the UK positions itself as the world’s leading player in advanced air mobility. Our technology will enable Coventry and other cities around the country and the world to decarbonise by enabling safe adoption of cleaner mobility solutions. We are grateful to our partners, investors and the UK Government for adopting our vision and now making advanced air mobility a viable and sustainable reality.”
Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre is focusing on understanding the customer journey and making the urban airport accessible to all, easy to navigate and a pleasure to use. They are also using immersive Virtual Reality to allow people to experience and contribute to the design of this innovative transport system of the future. Professor Stewart Birrell, Professor of Human Factors for Future Transport at Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre, said:
“We are delighted to be teaming up with Urban-Air Port and Coventry City Council to help facilitate this hugely exciting and innovative future transport project. The chance to utilise our expertise and research knowledge in user-centred design to help shape this forward-thinking development is one we have relished and the anticipation and excitement will now continue to grow as we watch how the site progresses and comes to life in the coming weeks.”
UAP’s proprietary Terrain Adjustable Foundations
The Air One site is positioned centrally within an area that is home to approx. 400,000 people living and working. With proximity to Coventry train station and intermodal transport links it has been identified as a perfect test bed location for this new form of technology.
From April 28th to 15th May 2022, Air One will be open to the public, with tours provided by the Urban-Air Port team. Watch out for updates on UAP’s LinkedIn channel and the website: www.urbanairport.com
About Urban-Air Port®
Urban-Air Port Limited is developing fully autonomous zero-emission ground infrastructure for new forms of sustainable urban air transport such as air taxis and autonomous delivery drones. Its mission is to remove the largest single constraint to sustainable air mobility – ground infrastructure – In order to create a zero-emission-mobility ecosystem that will significantly cut congestion and air pollution from passenger and cargo transport. Urban-Air Port is recognised as a world leader in the Advanced Air Mobility sector, with plans to deliver over 200 vertiports across the world in the next five years – ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, operations hubs for manned and unmanned vehicles providing aircraft command and control, charging/refuelling, and cargo and passenger loading. Its world-first Air-One project in Coventry City Centre will be operational from April 2022. The company is backed by major international partners, including Supernal. Urban-Air Port’s team of innovators, aeronautical engineers and aerospace experts have worked at companies including Airbus, Foster + Partners, Arup, JP Morgan, Knight Frank, British Aviation Group, Qinetiq and Uber, and in the UK Defence Sector.
About Air One, Coventry
Urban-Air Port’s Air-One site – its world-first fully-operational hub for eVTOL aircraft – will be unveiled in Coventry City Centre in Spring 2022 to showcase how sustainable urban air mobility can reduce congestion, cut air pollution and decarbonise transport while providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries.
Urban-Air Port® chose Coventry for the first site due to its important location in the heart of the UK and because it is a historic hub for the automobile and aerospace industry, with a pool of people and skills that can support the R&D and advanced manufacturing industries of the future.
Visit www.urbanairport.com for more information and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Coventry University
Coventry University is a global, modern university with a mission of Creating Better Futures. We were founded by entrepreneurs and industrialists in 1843 as the Coventry School of Design and we continue to have strong links with the public and private sector, providing job-ready graduates with the skills and creative thinking to improve their communities.
With a proud tradition of innovative teaching and learning, Coventry University has world-class campus facilities, the UK’s first standalone 5G network and a digital community of learning. Our students are part of a global network that has 50,000 learners studying Coventry University degrees in more than 40 different countries and partnerships with 150 higher education providers worldwide.
We have greatly increased our research capacity and ability with a focus on impactful research, delivered for and with partners, to address real-world challenges and support business and communities to develop and grow.
Over two centuries, we have flourished in Coventry and Coventry University Group now also delivers access to our range of high-quality services and partnerships through bases in London, Scarborough, Belgium, Poland, Egypt, Dubai, Singapore and Africa.
In recent years, we have won many awards and vastly improved our rankings in the league tables that matter to students – but what matters to us is delivering transformational change for our students, partners and communities around the world.
