The Prototype Technical Design Specifications for Vertiports offers guidance to urban planners and local decision-makers as well as industry to enable the safe design of vertiports that will serve these new types of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, which are already at an advanced stage of development.
One notable innovation is the concept of a funnel-shaped area above the vertiport, designated as an “obstacle free volume”. This concept is tailored to the operational capabilities of the new VTOL aircraft, which can perform landing and take-off with a significant vertical segment. Depending on the urban environment and on the performance of certain VTOL-capable aircraft, omnidirectional trajectories to vertiports will be also possible. Such approaches can more easily take account of environmental and noise restrictions and are more suitable for an urban environment than conventional heliport operations, which are constrained in the approaches that can be safely applied.
This guidance was developed under the leadership of EASA, working in cooperation with the world’s leading vertiport companies and VTOL manufacturers, and with the support of experts from European Member States. The next step is a full-scale rulemaking task (RMT.230) during which EASA will develop the full spectrum of regulatory requirements to ensure safe vertiport operations. These will include not only detailed design specifications, but also requirements for authorities to oversee vertiport operations as well as organisational and operational requirements for vertiport operators.
