New Skyports deal will see “vertiports” built on council land
A new transport option is set to debut in south-east Queensland as the Gold Coast signed a deal with Skyports Infrastructure to explore a city-wide network of air taxi take-off and landing areas.
Mayor Tom Tate, who recently visited the company in Dubai, said Skyports would build three or four “vertiports” across the city on municipal land.
“This is no longer science fiction, it is reality and I want the Gold Coast to be at the forefront of this transport revolution,” Tate said.
According to the plan, electric flying taxis will transport passengers throughout the city. The journey from Gold Coast Airport to Broadbeach, which takes approximately 45 minutes by car, can be reduced to five to seven minutes by air.
But while Tate was excited about the potential of the new technology, which he called “the future of transportation,” he still had some doubts, especially about whether it could be automated.
“If someone is using it, I feel more confident and more comfortable,” he said.
Skyports Asia-Pacific president Yun Yuan Tay said the locations discussed with the council were for confidential commercial purposes and therefore could not be disclosed. But he said they would be in “very high demand” locations within the Gold Coast city limits and could connect with other parts of south-east Queensland.
“If it is downtown, it will be small, compact and scenic,” he said.
“If it’s somewhere in the suburbs, it could be a lot bigger, so we’re going to have to do our proper due diligence and analysis on how big they need to be.”
Vertiports usually take 12 to 18 months to build, Tay said.
“It’s pretty simple: pouring concrete, pouring asphalt on the ground for the plane to land,” he said.
“Then you need charging facilities for the aircraft to recharge. You need proper fire suppression for electric battery fires in case you need it. You need a really small, compact terminal because you don’t want people lingering around.”
“It’s an air taxi service where people board, check in and go straight to the plane. So it’s a little 100 square meter terminal where people can just linger for five to 10 minutes and that’s basically it.”
Skyports will operate the vertiports, not the flying taxis that use them, Tay said. Although Tay said Skyports was in talks with various operators so they would not have direct control over pricing.
“With any new technology, fares will generally start out a little bit higher for premium passengers, and over time as we scale and increase volume in the city and volume of aircraft, we expect to get that down to somewhere between Uber Black or luxury car service,” he said.
Aviation company Joby started piloted flights last week at the company’s Downtown Skyport in Manhattan, Tay said.
“This wasn’t just one flight; it was five flights to our helipad in front of the public, in front of the media, in front of influencers,” he said.
“They were very confident in the aircraft and I think in the future they will certify the aircraft, bring it to Australia and have it certified by CASA.” [the Civil Aviation Safety Authority]and I also fly in Gold Coast City.
The memorandum of understanding between the council and Skyport was signed at the City of Gold Coast chambers on Tuesday.
The deal builds on Skyports’ separate agreement with Alt Air and EVE Air Mobility in March to prepare for eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) operations across NSW and Queensland, building on the addition of a government partner to accelerate the programme.
Tate said the deal would help ensure Brisbane’s Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy wasn’t just limited to stadiums and sporting venues, but also transport improvements for the future.
Australian firm Skyportz, not to be confused with Skyports, has planned an air taxi manufacturing center at Petrie, north of Brisbane.
