The first vertiport in Italy was inaugurated at Fiumicino Airport in Rome!

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Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), Atlantia, UrbanV and Volocopter have successfully completed the first test flights of a manned eVTOL in Italian airspace. These tests were part of a mobility ecosystem set up at Fiumicino Airport in Rome. This is a key milestone towards the expected launch of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) services in Rome by 2024, also inaugurating Italy's first vertiport

Aeroporti di Roma, Volocopter, UrbanV and Atlantia performed the first public test flight with an eVTOL, while presenting Italy's first Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) test vertiport.

The test comes a year after the first eVTOL prototype was presented in Italy. Over the past twelve months, significant progress has been made in the flight technology, vertiport design and regulations required to enable the first AAM services between Fiumicino Airport and the city of Rome, which are planned to start in 2024.

The electric volocopter 2X flew at 40 km/h for 5 minutes at a height of 40 meters on a defined flight path, all this after obtaining all the necessary authorizations from the Italian authorities, the civil aviation authority (Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione Civile - ENAC) and air traffic control service provider (Ente Nazionale Assistance al Volo - ENAV ) whose main role is in shaping the future AAM ecosystem. 

Volocopter's electric air taxi is designed for fast flights in urban environments and busy waterways.

The Vertiport is developed in accordance with the "Prototype Technical Specifications for the Design of VFR Vertiports for Operation with Manned VTOL-Capable Aircraft Certified in the Enhanced Category" of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and is located in the regulatory sandbox approved by ENAC.

It is designed to accommodate various types of tests for both flight and ground operations (turnaround, battery charging, embarkation / disembarkation, etc.), with an electrical system designed to allow testing of various eVTOL charging technologies (battery exchange , fast charging, etc.). 

The Vertiport occupies an area of ​​about 5.500 square meters, being sized to ensure compatibility with the main eVTOLs that will be certified in the coming years.

The vertiport consists of: the final approach and take-off area (FATO) for landing and take-off operations; a parking area; a covered hangar measuring 20 x 20 x 6 meters; various rooms including an office, storage and an area for charging batteries.

The demonstration flight was followed by an event hosted by UrbanV, a company set up by ADR – together with Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur, Aeroporto di Venezia (SAVE) and Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna.

The goal is to design and build vertiports at an international level. In this context, another dimension of future AAM services, VoloIQ, was explored. This digital platform is the backbone of the urban air mobility ecosystem supporting digital access to all work processes. From flight operations to booking and beyond, VoloIQ will support and streamline the expansion of UAM/AAM operations in cities around the world to complement physical infrastructure (vertiports) and the entire ecosystem in the digital dimension.

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