VPorts, a leader in the design, construction and operation of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) Airport to build and operate a first vertiport in RAK designed to establish the UAE as a world-class global AAM hub.
‘‘With the support of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al-Khaimah, we are excited to build and operate the first vertiport at Ras Al Khaimah Airport. This project will enable all AAM partners to accelerate the adoption and deployment of advanced air mobility in RAK and throughout the UAE,” said Dr. Fethi Chebil, President and Founder of VPorts.
VPorts’ initial growth strategy is based on the regional transportation of goods, tourism and the efficient movement of patients, organs for transplants and medical equipment. The RAK vertiport, which will be established on a 10,000-m² site, will be designed for all types of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. VPorts’s vertiports will be opened for all eVTOL manufacturers.
By 2030, VPorts plans to extend its vertiport network to all major industrial areas across the UAE, providing a sustainable transportation solution via eVTOL aircraft. The network will focus on locations that optimize multimodal transportation connectivity, including Ras Al-Khaimah, Dubai South, Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
In December 2022, VPorts announced the signing a 25-year exclusive lease agreement with the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH), renewable for a further 25 years, to establish a state-of-the-art integrator centre on a 37,000-m² site within Dubai South. Development and construction of the centre will start in 2023; it is expected to begin operations and conduct its first flight test in 2024.
