New developments in urban air mobility

The new frontier of urban mobility is represented by the so-called «urban air mobility» which includes operations carried out with types of aircraft and new technologies, with vertical take-off and landing capabilities, used in congested urban areas, with air and ground infrastructure integrated into a multimodal system. In this phase, international, European and national authorities are implementing the first actions to outline the regulatory framework within which operators can invest. The strategic structure for this mode of transport is the ground infrastructure, the so-called vertiport: «area of land, body of water or structure used or intended to be used for the landing and take-off of VCA and for the movement of VCA». The European Aviation Safety Agency has adopted the first technical indications to be used, on an experimental basis, for the design of vertiports in the guidelines «Prototype Technical Specifications for the Design of VFR Vertiports for Operation with Manned VTOL-Capable Aircraft Certified in the Enhanced Category». The guidelines provide instructions for those who intend to design such infrastructures in an urban center: the physical characteristics, the environment, possible obstacles, lights, signage.