"Urban Blue is the name of the new company unveiled on 26 October by four airportsincluding a leading French platform. Nice airport has joined forces with its counterparts in Rome, Venice and Bologna to speed up the vertiportsfrom design to construction and management. These home ports for eVTOL - these vertical take-off electric vehicles - will be deployed not only in Urban Blue's founding cities, but also in other parts of the world... Those in charge of the project are opening the door to " to other geographical areas...
"Urban Blue is the name of the new company unveiled on 26 October by four airportsincluding a leading French platform. Nice airport has joined forces with its counterparts in Rome, Venice and Bologna to speed up the vertiportsfrom design to construction and management. These home ports for eVTOL - these vertical take-off electric vehicles - will be deployed not only in Urban Blue's founding cities, but also in other parts of the world... Those in charge of the project are opening the door to " to other geographical areas of interest ". Indeed, this Urban Aerial Mobility (UAM) can be more or less suitable depending on the urban fabric, mild weather conditions and a flat or coastal environment constituting a favourable terrain.
From this point of view Nice appears to be an ideal candidate, as the airport's Managing Director points out: " As an airport operator located in a landlocked area, between the sea and the mountains, in the heart of urban and industrial areas, the Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur Group is anticipating the spread of this new form of mobility in the short term. This is why participating in the creation and development of Urban Blue is not only part of our strategy, but also of our convictions in terms of sustainable mobility. "points out Franck Goldnadel.
Take-off in 2024: "an ambitious deadline, but possible".
The founders of Urban Blue intend to make rapid progress on the vertiports project, since the start of operations at Rome, Nice and Venice is planned for 2024. This confidence is based in particular on the skills of the players involved in the master planning and management of infrastructures for commercial aviation and helicopters. In addition, their participation in various working groups relating to urban air mobility (MAU) at Italian and European level should give them the necessary expertise. Moreover, according to the information communicated on Tuesday, Urban Blue already has " a portfolio of vertiport projects with strong development potential, already identified in specific geographical reference areas ".
For the time being, as the people in charge of the project have announced, " Urban Blue will carry out technical and economic feasibility studies and draw up master plans, in coordination with all the stakeholders in the new ecosystem, to prepare for the authorisation phase, followed by the construction and management of the vertiports. ".
" The development of Urban Air Mobility is part of our a strategy of rapid acceleration in innovation and sustainability and will enable us to further enhance our infrastructure development and management skills "says Marco Troncone, Managing Director of Aeroporti di Roma. We are working in synergy with all the stakeholders and industrial partners to design the ground structures within the overall ecosystem, with the aim of getting this service up and running in 2024, before the start of the Jubilee. An ambitious but achievable deadlinewhich will make Rome one of the first cities in Europe to introduce this type of connection. ".
Japan is also making progress
To bring their project to fruition, the four airports intend to attract industrial, technological and financial partners in their wake. The links already forged include EDF Invest, a shareholder in Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur, as well as Volocopter. The German manufacturer is on all fronts, having just signed an agreement with Japan Airlines. The Japanese company has been selected by the local authorities to set up an air taxi service in Osaka for Expo 2025. JAL will be using Volocopter's eVTOL aircraft to link the Expo site to the airport.
" Japan and Osaka's commitment to the commercialisation of urban air mobility and its open approach allow us to be involved as pioneers in the future of mobility," says Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. He adds: "As the world's first and only eVTOL developer, with successful public flights on several continents and a multifunctional aircraft family, we are convinced that we will be an integral part of Japan's future air mobility ecosystem. Together with our partners, we aim to improve life in densely populated areas through our sustainable air mobility services. ".
At the same time, an agreement has been reached between Japan Airlines and Avolon for the lease or purchase of 50 VA-X4 aircraft produced by Vertical. " Through this partnership, JAL will have the right to purchase or lease up to 50 eVTOL VA-X4s from Vertical in Avolon, with an option for a further 50 units. "says Avolon.
